IMPORTANT BREAKING NEWS . . .

August 3, 2010
The New York State Senate Passes
Gas Drilling Moratorium Bill
 
The state Senate approved a measure late yesterday that would suspend drilling until May 15 [2011] in the New York portion of the Marcellus Shale formation pending further environmental studies. The moratorium passed 48-9. The Assembly has yet to take up the measure.

To extract gas from shale, companies use hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in which water, sand and chemicals are injected deep underground to break up rock and allow gas to flow. The New York-based Natural Resources Defense Council says greater safeguards are needed to ensure that fracking chemicals don’t contaminate drinking water.

“Not only did they pass it but it passed overwhelmingly,” Assemblyman Robert Sweeney, a Democrat from Suffolk County who sponsored his chamber’s version of the bill, said in an interview. “That opens the way for us to do to the bill in the Assembly where I would expect it to pass with similar overwhelming numbers.”

Next stop, the Assembly. But as you can see, its looking very good if the Senate passed its version of the bill in overwhelming bipartisan fashion.

The fight to prevent unsafe gas drilling in New York State received a huge boost the New York State Senate passed a bill that would impose a moratorium on granting permits for hydrofracking until May 15, 2011. 
 
The bill, sponsored by Senator Antoine Thompson (D-Buffalo), was passed by a margin of 48-9.  The vote had strong bipartisan support and included 15 Republicans.
 
The next step is for the Assembly version of the bill (A11443-b) to be voted on by the Assembly when they return from their summer break after September 15th.
 
Many had considered the bill "dead on arrival", but legislators were positively affected by the unrelenting efforts of Catskill Mountainkeeper and a broad coalition of our environmental and grass roots partners. According to Wes Gillingham who managed Mountainkeeper's field efforts to generate public support for the bill, and was on the Senate Floor this morning pushing up to the last minute "this important step is a
tremendous display of what can happen when citizens stand up and take action."
 
It is very important to note that the passage of this bill by the State Senate does not make this a done deal.  We now must make sure the bill is passed by the Assembly and be signed by the Governor as quickly as possible.
 
Here's how you can help!
 
1. Email and call Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and your own Assembly Members now to tell them to bring the bill (A11443-B) to a vote as soon as possible.

2. Call Governor Paterson and tell him to heed the call of New Yorkers across the state who are calling for the state to slow new gas drilling down and to make sure it can be done safely before our communities, our drinking water, our air quality and our landscapes are sacrificed.

............................

When the New York State Senate passed a nine-month moratorium on a crucial natural gas drilling technique late Tuesday, legislators there held up Pennsylvania, state regulators and a small Susquehanna County community as models for how not to drill for gas in the Marcellus Shale.
 
The senators' criticism raised the ire of Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger, who defended the state's environmental regulations on Thursday and criticized New York for riding the moral "high horse while consuming Pennsylvania gas."
 
"If they are so ashamed of what's gone on here perhaps they should stop buying Pennsylvania gas," Hanger said

I think because the state of Pennsylvania was so thirsty to get this development opportunity they did not have enough infrastructure in place, making sure they were inspecting the wells properly, making sure that landowners were protected," Thompson, D-Buffalo, said Tuesday night.
 
Despite his opposition to the moratorium, New York State Senator Tom Libous, R-Binghamton, spoke even more critically of Pennsylvania.

"Shame on the state of Pennsylvania," Libous said. "Shame on their Department of Environmental Protection because they screwed up badly. They didn't keep an eye on those who were drilling. They didn't keep an eye on environmental factors on behalf of the citizens of that state."
 

June 23, 2010
Hinchey, Holt, Sestak Secure House Panel Approval
of $1 Million to Study Cumulative Water Impacts of
Natural Gas Drilling in Delaware River Basin
  
     Washington, DC - Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ) and Congressman Joe Sestak (D-PA) today announced that they have secured approval from a key House panel of $1 million for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a cumulative impact study on water withdrawals for hydraulic fracturing of Marcellus Shale natural gas wells in the Delaware River Basin.  The House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies this week approved the funding for the study, which would be conducted in partnership with the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC).

    "The expected scope of hydraulic fracturing in the Delaware River Basin and the prodigious water withdrawals for this process raise important questions and concerns about the cumulative impacts of natural gas exploration and drilling in the Basin.  It is estimated that more than 30,000 natural gas wells could be developed in the Upper Delaware River Basin in the coming years, and it is critical that we understand the impacts of these proposed activities upon the water resources of the Basin," said Hinchey, who in April called on the DRBC to conduct a cumulative impact study. "With over 15 million people relying on the Delaware River for clean drinking water, we simply cannot allow drilling to move forward without first giving full scrutiny to the cumulative effects on water resources throughout the region."
 
    “Hydraulic fracturing poses a possible health and environmental threat to the millions of people who make their home in the Delaware River watershed and the almost 10 percent of the nation’s population who rely on these waters for drinking, recreational, and industrial use.  We should not put these invaluable resources at risk. This funding would ensure that the Delaware River Basin Commission assess the cumulative impacts of oil and gas drilling before considering hydraulic fracturing proposals,” said Holt. 
 
    “There is extraordinary economic potential associated with the development of Marcellus Shale resources,” said Sestak. “However, as the oil spill in the Gulf and the recent explosion in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania reminds us, there is also great risk. One way to ensure proper development is understand the potential impacts.  That is why I supported the funding of the cumulative effects of drilling and operation of gas wells on the water supply in the Delaware River Basin.  With information from the study, we can make educated decisions on how best to minimize the impacts of drilling, while enhancing the benefits.”
 
    The study will evaluate the cumulative impacts on water supply and resources from additional water consumption for hydraulic fracturing, landscape alteration due to gas well pad development, and changes in water quality resulting from water discharges within the Basin. 
 
    Over 15 million people, including New York City and Philadelphia residents, depend on the water resources of the Delaware River Basin. While property owners and local businesses could benefit economically from drilling activities in the Basin, the study is necessary to ensure that these individuals as well as other stakeholders throughout the Basin are not adversely impacted by any Marcellus Shale natural gas development and that the region's water resources are fully protected.  The cumulative impact analysis will help to inform and guide DRBC management policies and practices that both enable economic progress and also ensure protection of public health and the environment.  The DRBC has regulatory jurisdiction over all water withdrawals and discharges for Marcellus Shale drilling in the Delaware River Basin.
 
    Hinchey continues to be a leading voice in federal efforts to protect drinking water and the environment from the risks of hydraulic fracturing. In April, Hinchey wrote to DRBC Executive Director Carol R. Collier to urge the agency to conduct a cumulative water impact study prior to permitting individual gas drilling projects in the Basin.  In March, the EPA announced that it had initiated a study on the environmental risks of hydraulic fracturing based on legislative language Hinchey authored.  Last year, Hinchey, Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), and several of his colleagues introduced the FRAC ACT -- Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act, which would close the loophole that exempted hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act and require the oil and gas industry to disclose the chemicals they use in their hydraulic fracturing processes. Holt and Sestak have co-sponsored the legislation.
 
    Hinchey and Holt currently serve as co-chairs of the Congressional Delaware River Task Force, a bipartisan group of members of the U.S. House of Representatives from all four basin states (Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) that coordinate congressional efforts to promote the restoration and vitality of the Delaware River Basin and its communities.

 For Immediate Release
Contact:
Mike Morosi - 202-225-6335 (Hinchey)
Zach Goldberg - 202-225-5801 (Holt)
Jonathon Dworkin - 610-892-8623 (Sestak)


July 5, 2010
Fracas Erupts Over ‘Fracking’ Practices With Recent High-Profile Accidents.
Houston Business Journal
by Ford Gunter

“It’s going to be over very quick, I think the EPA is going to rule very quickly that ‘frac’"
water is carcinogenic. They have to put it back under the (Safe Drinking Water Act).
Everyone in the Industry says when that happens . . . it’s over.”
Matt Simmons, Houston energy guru, founder & former chairman and CEO of Simmons & Co.

FULL REPORT:
http://www.bizjournals.com/

Despite the best intentions of energy icon T. Boone Pickens and regardless of the controversy over deepwater exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, onshore gas operations in the United States face a serious and distracting problem.

Hydraulic fracturing — the now common industry process of injecting water and chemicals into reservoirs to fracture rock and free up gas and oil — is in the cross hairs of shareholders and environmental groups, and is drawing scrutiny from Congress, which is considering increased regulation.

Shareholder groups filed proposals this year affecting a dozen companies involved in hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” in which they requested more disclosure on risks. The response votes were very favorable, the groups say.

Of 12 proposals filed, six went to a shareholder proxy vote and were supported by between 21 percent and 42 percent of shareholders.

“We are pleased with the kind of votes we received at the proxy season,” says Larisa Ruoff of Green Century Capitol Management , a Boston investment advisory firm focused on environmentally responsible investing. “With the resolution that went to a vote, we’re pleased with the amount of shareholder support for a first-year environmental proposal. In general, most of the votes were incredibly strong.”

The six companies that went to a vote include Williams Cos. Inc. (42 percent support), Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (36 percent), EOG Resources Inc. (31 percent), Exxon Mobil Corp. (26 percent), Chesapeake Energy Corp. (25 percent) and Ultra Petroleum Corp. (21 percent). The support for those proposals was 7 to 14 times the percentage of votes required by the Securities and Exchange Commission to refile the proposals next year.

Proposals filed with Hess Corp., Range Resources Corp. and El Paso Corp. were withdrawn because of corporate commitments to increase disclosure.

“Those companies agreed to increase their disclosure,” says Ruoff.

Two other proposals at EQT Corp. and Energen Corp. were excluded on technicalities, and another submitted to XTO Energy Inc. was negated after that company was acquired by Exxon Mobil. Some of the companies unsuccessfully tried to challenge the proposals with the SEC. More transparency

Still, Ruoff points out that the proposals and the groups behind them are not necessarily against hydraulic fracturing. They just want more transparency in providing related information, to prevent a loss in stockholder value along the lines of what has happened to BP Plc shares after the Gulf spill.

“We want to make sure there is the disclosure that we need,” she says. “Without that, we just can’t make informed decisions.”

Green Century was not the only group that filed proposals. The Investor Environmental Health Network, a partnership of investment managers and nongovernmental organizations concerned about financial and public health risks, and As You Sow, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting corporate social responsibility, filed or assisted on some proposals.

“As investors we are concerned about the fact that we don’t believe the companies are providing sufficient information in key business risks,” Ruoff says. “It’s impossible for investors to know if they’re appropriately managing those associated risks.”

The focus on fracking comes just as the natural gas industry has hit a rough patch.

After the severity of the Deepwater Horizon disaster had set in, a handful of recent high-profile accidents at natural gas wells and at a Texas gas pipeline caused one death, several injuries and brought more scrutiny on a sector being championed by Pickens and others to leap to the forefront of domestic energy.

Couple those incidents with two newly released documentary films — including “Haynesville,” about the economic and environmental factors at play in northern Louisiana, and “GasLand,” a decidedly pro-environmental film about the effects of fracking on groundwater — and natural gas was ripe to be targeted by Green Century and others.

“Basically it centers on two central concepts key to investors — disclosure and mitigation of risks,” Ruoff says. “Resolution asks for a report summarizing the environmental impact of operations and discussion on potential policies companies could adopt above regulatory requirements. We have been encouraging all companies involved to acknowledge that there is public concern about the hazards of hydraulic fracturing and to improve the mechanisms to disclose the chemicals used while still preserving proprietary information.”

In “GasLand,” filmmaker Josh Fox is pushing the idea that hydraulic fracturing should again be placed under the Safe Drinking Water Act, from which it was exempted five years ago as part of then-Vice President Dick Cheney’s Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Environmental impact

Outspoken Houston energy guru Matt Simmons, founder and former chairman and CEO of Simmons & Co. International , says the effects on fracking as a result of that move would be profound.

“It’s going to be over very quick,” he suggests. “I think the EPA is going to rule very quickly that ‘frac’ water is carcinogenic. They have to put it back under the (Safe Drinking Water Act). Everyone in the industry says when that happens, it’s over.”

Officials with Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas — which was ordered to halt fracking operations in Pennsylvania for three weeks last September after three spills in a week and again in April 2010 for gas contamination of local water wells — declined an interview.

EOG — which suffered a recent blowout at a Pennsylvania well that spewed drilling wastewater for 16 hours — also declined an interview, pointing instead to a May 29 proxy statement encouraging shareholders to vote “no” on the request for the board of directors to prepare a report on the environmental impact of fracking and outline the potential policies the company could adopt above and beyond spotty regulatory requirements to eliminate hazards.

“There have been no known hydraulic fracturing-related incidents of groundwater contamination from any EOG operation and, based on information that we consider reliable, there have been no verified incidents of groundwater contamination from hydraulic fracturing by other operators during the more than 60 years this technology has been in use,” the statement read. “EOG believes that its hydraulic fracturing operations, which are subject to federal, state and local laws and state oversight, pose minimal impact to the environment and to human health.”

The company went on to say additional policies and reports are “unnecessary and would serve no useful purpose.”

Still, Green Century’s Ruoff points out that some 31 percent of EOG shareholders disagreed.

Says Ruoff, “The strong votes that we have received really demonstrate that there is clear investor concern about this issue and there is a wide range of investors that are seeking disclosure and don’t have the info they need to make informed decisions.”

Fracturing facts

Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” is the process of injecting large volumes of highly pressurized and chemically enhanced water into an underground natural gas or oil reservoir to fracture the rock in order to release additional hydrocarbons. Other elements such as sand are often included in the water to help hold the fractures open after the injection process. Fracking has been around for more than half a century, but has surged in popularity with the increased interest in unconventional shale plays and enhanced recovery techniques.
July 1, 2010
Reports Are Still Offered by Industry Carrying the Penn State Shield and Logo on Their Cover.
 
In a response sent by Penn State Dean William Easterling to the Responsible Drilling Alliance (RDA), a non-profit organization based in Williamsport, PA, the University admits that the original version of a natural gas industry study was flawed. In the Penn State letter, Dean Easterling states that in that initial version, “we found flaws in the way the report was written and presented to the public.” Easterling replies that the first report did not identify the sponsor of the research and he suggests, “…the authors may well have crossed the line between policy analysis and policy advocacy.”

Letter TO: Penn State, Dean Easterling.

 Letter TO: Penn State President, Dr. Spanier.

 Letter FROM: Penn State, Dean Easterling.

Earlier this month, in a letter initiating correspondence between the two parties, RDA called on the university to disavow publicly papers conducted by Penn State researchers and funded by the Marcellus Shale Committee, a coalition of gas industry representatives.  RDA claims that the papers use the university’s reputation to portray the coalition’s greatly exaggerated claims of economic impact as legitimate research.  In a continuation of this correspondence, RDA has released a follow-up letter to Penn State emphasizing the extent to which the industry group has touted the publication as “the Penn State report,” and used its widely contested findings to influence public opinion and political debate in favor of gas drilling in Pennsylvania. Once again, RDA asks the university to repudiate the methods the industry report represents and publicly disavow its findings.   

Note: The initial correspondence prompted an Associated Press article,
"PSU Drilling Study Questioned Over Industry Tie"
Associated Press,
Genaro C. Armas, June 14th, 2010.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=10912385

Since then, the words "Penn State Report" have suddenly disappeared from industry internet sites but the various versions of the reports are still offered carrying the Penn State shield logo on their cover.  

Responsible Drilling Alliance
P.O Box 502
Williamsport, PA 17703
  
CONTACT: Jon Bogle
Phone: 570-772-0151
Email:   boglejon@comcast.com
responsibledrillingalliance@gmail.com
http://www.responsibledrillingalliance.org

June 1, 2010
Damascus Citizens File Multiple Legal Actions
Within Upper Delaware River Watershed.

The Delaware River Basin Commission failed to review "exploratory" and or "test" wells within the "Special Protection Waters" of the Upper Delaware River Basin Watershed.

Damascus Citizens for Sustainability has filed multiple legal notices. On Thursday, May 27, 2010, through counsel, Jeff Zimmerman, Damascus Citizens challenged the failure of the Delaware River Basin Commission [DRBC] to review "exploratory" and or "test" wells within the "Special Protection Waters" of the Upper Delaware River Basin Watershed. The legal notice includes a request for a regulatory hearing to address this lack of review. Additionally, a filing has been made with the Environmental Hearing Board of the PA Department of Environmental Protection (PA-DEP, Department) appealing the issuance of a "Drill and Operate" permit for the Teeple Well.

These legal actions are intended to prevent the DRBC from granting blanket exclusions for so-called “exploratory” and/or "test" wells including DL Teeple (PADEP Permit No. 37-127-20013) ; Rutledge (PADEP Permit No. 37-127-20012) ; Crum (PADEP Permit No. 37-127-20015) ; and Schwieghofer (PA-DEP Permit No. 37-127-20016). 

Although there is no legal classification for the term “exploratory well" and/or "test well” classification under Pennsylvania’ s oil & gas permitting regulations, in its permit application to the PA-DEP for each of these wells, Newfield listed the type of well as “vertical test well.” Newfield, also included in the permit file for each of these wells a “To Whom It May Concern” letter in which the company states in writing its intention that once its testing is completed, that each well may be “reconfigured and converted to a production well.”

This legal filing with DRBC is a formal “request for hearing". It contends that each of these wells must be subject to a specific review under the DRBC Compact, to review an action or decision of the Commissions or Executive Director; the “Determination of the Executive Director Concerning Natural Gas Extraction Activities in Shale Formations Within the Drainage Area of the Special Protection Waters,” (the “EDD”). In accordance with the Commission’s decision at its May 5, 2010, meeting, each exploratory/ test well must be deferred from further consideration until DRBC completes preparation and adoption of comprehensive regulations to regulate all natural gas related activities production in the Delaware River Basin.

By creating the fictitious category of an “exploratory well,” a category that does not exist under Pennsylvania state law, the DRBC acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner by creating a “loophole” where the exception will swallow the normal rules and prevent public hearings and opportunity for comment submissions by other agencies, government departments, and the general public. Unless this hearing request is granted and the DRBC approach to “exploratory well” is changed, there will be no one at the DRBC reviewing any of these “exploratory wells.” With no one at DRBC watching and protecting the “special protection” water resources of the Upper Delaware River Basin, very substantial development will occur that will nullify the effect of the Commission’s deferral decision and it’s historic mandate within the basin.

Additionally, a formal appeal was made by Damascus Citizens to the PA-DEP “Environmental Hearing Board” on behalf of Mr. Carl Keesler and Damascus Citizens. Mr. Keesler resides within less than 1000 feet from the Teeple project site. On or about April 23, 2010, PA-DEP issued a “Drill and Operate” permit to Newfield, granting permission to Newfield [as contracted by Hess], to drill a gas well on property owned by Mr. Dale Teeple.

Among the several legal claims made in the filing are the facts that the proposed project is located within the “Shehawken Rattlesnake Creek” watershed, a designated “Special Protection High Quality” (HQ) watershed. The Department has not given adequate consideration to the impacts of the project upon water quantity. Further the Department has not evaluated this permit under its PA state anti-degradation program. Additionally, Hess and Newfield [as contracted by Hess], should be barred from using their partners or others with any conflict of interest to conduct water tests for the Keesler residence. And PA-DEP’s arbitrary and capricious elimination of review by County Conservation Districts (CCDs) of erosion and sediment control permit applications as well as stream and wetlands encroachment permit applications exceeded the agency’s authority.  Elimination of CCD review also prevented meaningful public participation and local control as required by Pennsylvania law.

Finally, this permit as issued violates Article I, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, which guarantees to its citizens “the right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment,” and places a duty upon the Commonwealth to “conserve and maintain” the natural resources of the state “for the benefit of all the people.” The record of such drilling in Pennsylvania and elsewhere around the nation shows a clear pattern of destruction of the clean air, pure water and other values that Pennsylvanians enjoy by right.  Such drilling, particularly so close to the home of an unwilling neighbor such as Mr. Keesler, and to the Upper Delaware River cannot be reconciled with the Commonwealth’ s duties under this provision.

The drilling disaster unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico is an exploratory [test] well. The massive explosion was caused by a single methane bubble. The Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf was given an exclusion - just like the exclusion the Delaware River Basin Commission [DRBC] is allowing for "exploratory" or "test" wells in the watershed region. Construction of these 14 exploratory [test] wells has begun.

FOR PUBLIC RELEASE, PUBLICATION, & DISTRIBUTION:
CONTACT: 570-685-8774

June 2, 2010
Upper Delaware Named "Most Endangered River"
 
Hinchey Stresses Urgency of Passing His FRAC Act
Legislation to Protect Water Resources &
 Urges DRBC Cumulative Water Impact Study for Gas Drilling
 
Narrowsburg, NY - Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) today joined representatives from local environmental groups and the National Park Service to announce and highlight the designation of the Upper Delaware as "America's Most Endangered River" for 2010.  The designation, announced by the national organization American Rivers, comes as energy companies are lining up to use the controversial hydraulic fracturing process to begin extracting natural gas from the Marcellus Shale in the Upper Delaware River Basin.  Hinchey is leading the effort in Congress to restore common-sense federal environmental protections for hydraulic fracturing to prevent water contamination from natural gas drilling.
 
"The Upper Delaware River is one of America's most beautiful and historic rivers, and it is used by millions of people for fishing, recreation, drinking water and other uses" said Hinchey. "As energy companies prepare to start drilling for natural gas in the Upper Delaware, American Rivers has rightfully recognized the potential impacts that large scale drilling could have on the incredible water resources of the basin."
 
Hinchey continued, "There are currently no federal requirements forcing gas drillers to disclose the chemicals they inject into the ground. There are also no regulations that allow the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate gas drilling's impact on drinking water supplies. These facts demonstrate the vital need to pass the FRAC Act, which I introduced in Congress, and show the urgency for the Delaware River Basin Commission to conduct a cumulative water impact study on fracking in the basin. We've already seen what happens when energy companies are not properly regulated. In the midst of one of the largest environmental disasters in our nation's history, as millions of gallons of oil continue to spew into the Gulf of Mexico, the need for action to protect the Upper Delaware River could not be clearer."
 
Hinchey today sent a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, formally urging her to bring his Fracking Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals (FRAC) Act up for a vote.  The congressman authored that legislation to close a loophole created in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which he voted against, that exempted hydraulic fracturing from the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).  The FRAC Act would restore SDWA protections and also require the oil and gas industry to disclose the chemicals they use in their hydraulic fracturing processes.  Currently, the oil and gas industry is the only industry exempt from the SDWA.
 
In April 2010, Hinchey called on the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to conduct an environmental impact study on the cumulative effects of natural gas extraction water withdrawals rather than consider only the impact from individual drilling sites on a case by case basis. The study, Hinchey argued, should occur before the commission considers any individual water withdrawal applications. Hinchey has also recently conveyed to the DRBC his concerns regarding the need for regulation by the DRBC for exploratory wells in the basin, which the DRBC is not currently regulating.
 
In March, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the commencement of the Hinchey Study - a comprehensive investigation into the potential adverse impact that hydraulic fracturing may have on water quality and public health.  Hinchey authored the provision in Congress that led to the EPA's decision to conduct the study after questions were raised regarding the safety of the natural gas drilling process.  
 
The entire Upper Delaware River basin is located over the Marcellus Shale. In order to access the reserves of natural gas in the shale, multinational energy corporations have acquired drilling rights to large tracts of land throughout the watershed.  Two companies alone, Chesapeake Appalachia and Statoil, have a stated goal of developing 13,500 to 17,000 gas wells in the region in next twenty years. Drilling companies will need millions of gallons of water in order to hydraulically fracture gas wells to stimulate the release of natural gas. The drilling companies will combine the water with a host of chemicals, including some toxic ones such as benzene and toluene. The gas drilling companies are required to get permits from the DRBC for these water withdrawals from the basin, which can require from three to five million gallons per well drilled.
 
In 1978, Congress designated roughly 73 miles of the Upper Delaware River between Hancock, NY and Mill Rift, PA as the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, a unit of the National Park System. The river is a popular destination for sightseeing, boating, camping, hunting, fishing, hiking, and bird watching.  Additionally, several endangered, at-risk, or rare species live in the river and along its banks. The Upper Delaware is also classified and protected by the DRBC as "Special Protection Waters," recognized for its exceptionally high scenic, recreational ecological and water supply values.
 
American Rivers is the leading national organization standing up for healthy rivers so communities can thrive. American Rivers protects and restores America's rivers for the benefit of people and wildlife. Founded in 1973, American Rivers has more than 65,000 members and supporters, with offices in Washington, DC and nationwide.

May 21 2010
Natural Gas Challenge Filed with
Delaware River Basin Commission [DRBC] by
Delaware Riverkeeper Network and Nockamixon Township
 
West Trenton, NJ - Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN) and Nockamixon Township, Bucks County, PA have jointly submitted a hearing request concerning a decision issued by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to allow a gas well in Nockamixon Township to move forward without DRBC review.  The administrative challenge was submitted to the DRBC on May 21, 2010.

DRBC recently issued a moratorium on natural gas well approvals but the agency excluded exploratory wells from the moratorium.  The exclusion of exploratory wells was protested by DRN in a May 3 letter and at the May 5 DRBC public meeting.  Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) recently renewed Arbor Operating LLC’s permit to drill and operate a gas well, Cabot #2, in the Lockatong Shale formation in Nockamixon Township, Bucks County, on Rapp Creek, which flows to the Wild and Scenic Lower Delaware River and DRBC’s designated Special Protection Waters.  DRN and Nockamixon Township jointly appealed that permit on May 18, 2010.  DRBC issued an April 21, 2010 letter to Arbor notifying them that the gas well application they had submitted was no longer necessary since the well was an exploratory well and the water to be used was not substantial.  This action is the subject of the administrative challenge filed today by DRN and Nockamixon Township.

According to the Request for Hearing, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and Nockamixon Township oppose the decision based on the potential for environmental degradation and pollution to the Special Protection Waters of the Lower Delaware River and community concerns including:

 • The Cabot #2 well is not intended solely for exploratory purposes yet DRBC has determined not to review the project, which is inconsistent with DRBC’s Executive Director Determination that natural gas wells that will eventually produce gas will be reviewed and that water withdrawals, wastewater disposal and other activities related to natural gas extraction could adversely impact Special Protection Waters;
• DRBC’s inconsistent prior communication with Arbor that required the Cabot #2 well to be reviewed by DRBC, despite its so-called “exploratory” purpose;
• DRBC has substantially shifted its policy on the “definition” of “exploratory wells”, requiring a broad review which has not occurred;
• There is no consideration of the potential environmental harm from “exploratory” wells such as pollution, stormwater runoff and stream and river degradation from changed land use, wastewater disposal and water use, and stream and river flow diminishment and alterations.

“DRBC is not fulfilling its responsibility to protect the River’s Special Protection Waters from degradation.  All natural gas projects, including so-called ‘exploratory wells’, have the potential to pollute and degrade the River, its tributaries and watershed and DRBC must prevent that from happening.  DRN is compelled to force this issue legally to stop the ‘exploratory well’ charade that could ruin our chances to save the River from the threats of gas drilling”, said Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper.
Delaware Riverkeeper Network attorney Elizabeth Koniers Brown explained further: “By allowing ‘exploratory’ wells to be converted into production wells, DRBC is creating an enormous loophole and inviting gas drilling to begin in the watershed without proper oversight.  DRBC’s position on this issue threatens to undermine the measures it has recently taken to regulate gas drilling.”   

"Nockamixon Township will continue to fulfill its responsibility to ensure that proper environmental standards are respected.   We are hopeful that DRBC will revisit this action so that these highly risky activities do not proceed without proper review and oversight," said Jordan Yeager, Solicitor, Nockamixon Township.


May 20, 2010
Natural Gas Drilling Permit Legally Challenged by
Delaware Riverkeeper Network and Nockamixon Township
 
Bucks County, PA  Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN) and Nockamixon Township, Bucks County, PA have joined forces to appeal the issuance of a renewed natural gas drilling permit to Arbor Resources by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP).  The joint appeal was filed with the Environmental Hearing Board in Harrisburg on May 18, 2010.

Arbor Operating LLC is proposing to drill and operate a gas well in the Lockatong Shale formation on property owned by Cabot Corporation.  PADEP issued a renewed permit to the company on April 13, 2010, failing to provide public notice or a copy to the Township prior to or after its issuance. 
According to the Notice of Appeal, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and Nockamixon Township oppose the permit based on environmental resource and community concerns including inadequate consideration of adverse impacts to:
 • Rapp Creek, designated an Exceptional Value (EV) stream by Pennsylvania, and anti-degradation requirements for the watershed;
• groundwater quality and quantity and stream flow;
• the Township’s comprehensive planning, zoning, and resource protection ordinances;
• the sustainability of water supplies;
• the Lower Delaware Wild and Scenic River;
• cumulative watershed impacts.

“PADEP has blindly issued a permit to drill in this sensitive, highly vulnerable watershed without consideration of the degradation that gas drilling will bring.  PADEP is failing in its obligation to protect the communities and environments of the Commonwealth and instead seems mostly concerned with servicing the gas drillers and industry.  If the State won’t protect us, then we will protect ourselves”, said Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, co-plaintiff.

“Nockamixon Township has been fulfilling its constitutional obligation to protect our community’s fragile water supply and other natural resources.  Unfortunately, it is now clear that we must take action to hold the state government accountable to do the same.” said Jordan Yeager, Solicitor, Nockamixon Township.
“Delaware Riverkeeper Network is proud to join with Nockamixon Township on this important challenge.  The appeal sends a clear message to DEP that rubber-stamping gas drilling permits is not acceptable," said Elizabeth Koniers Brown, Senior Attorney for the Delaware Riverkeeper Network.

The Township has been involved in litigation with Arbor regarding the enforcement of Township Comprehensive Planning and zoning over natural gas development since 2008.

For more information on natural gas drilling in the Delaware River Watershed, go to www.delawareriverkeeper.org


April 15, 2010

DEP Takes Aggressive Action Against Cabot Oil & Gas Corp
To Enforce Environmental Laws Protect Public in Susquehanna County Suspends Review of
Cabot’s New Drilling Permit Applications
Orders Company to Plug Wells Install Residential Water Systems Pay $240,000 in Fines

HARRISBURG -- The Department of Environmental Protection today issued a sweeping order requiring Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. to take extensive actions and help the residents of Dimock Township, Susquehanna County, who have been affected by the company’s drilling activities.

Under the consent order and agreement, Cabot must plug three wells within 40 days that are believed to be the source of migrating gas that has contaminated groundwater and the drinking water supplies of 14 homes in the region. It must also install permanent treatment systems in those homes within 30 days.

Additionally, DEP Secretary John Hanger said his agency is immediately suspending its review of Cabot’s pending permit applications for new drilling activities statewide until it fulfills its obligations under the order issued today. Cabot also is barred from drilling any new wells for at least one year in the Dimock Township area.
Today’s action follows Cabot’s failure to abide by the terms of a November 2009 consent order and agreement with DEP.

“Cabot had every opportunity to correct these violations, but failed to do so. Instead, it chose to ignore its responsibility to safeguard the citizens of this community and to protect the natural resources there,” said Hanger. “I have ordered that all of Cabot’s permit applications for further drilling in any region of the state be put on-hold, indefinitely, until the region’s homeowners receive their new water treatment systems, the fines are paid, and the wells are plugged.

“Gas migration is a serious issue that can have dire consequences to affected communities and we will not allow Pennsylvania’s citizens to be put in harms way by companies that chose not to follow the law.”

During recent inspections, DEP identified five additional defective Cabot gas wells and another home water supply that has been affected by gas migration, bringing to 14 the number of impacted water supplies in the Dimock area.

Hanger said DEP also will continue to investigate another 10 Cabot gas wells in the Dimock area over the next 85 days that could be sources of migrating gas and determine whether Cabot should be ordered to plug some or all of those wells.

The original November 2009 consent order and agreement directed Cabot to meet a March 31 deadline to fix defective cement and well casings on certain wells and to prevent the unpermitted natural gas discharge into groundwater that violated the state’s Clean Streams Law and the Oil and Gas Act. The company did not meet this deadline, while the migrating gas continues to impact water supplies at homes in a nine-square-mile area near Carter Road.

As part of today’s order, Cabot has also paid a $240,000 fine to the commonwealth, which has been deposited into the state’s well-plugging account. It also must pay $30,000 per month beginning in May until DEP has determined that the company has met its obligations under the 2009 order.

“Companies drilling in the Marcellus Shale have the legal responsibility to design and construct their wells to keep all gas contained within the wells and to prevent gas from moving into fresh groundwater. These standards are not mere suggestions or recommendations,” Hanger said. “Oil and gas companies doing business in

Pennsylvania will follow the environmental rules and regulations put in place to protect citizens and our natural resources or face aggressive action by this department.”

Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. is headquartered in Houston, Texas with a mailing address in Pittsburgh.  

March 23, 2010
Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation
"Notice of Intent to Sue." 
Regarding the Leasing of Public Lands to Private Corporations.

      Violation of Article I, Section 27
      Constitution of Pennsylvania;
      Continued Leasing State Forest Lands
 
Governor Rendell,
I represent the Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation, a group founded under the laws of Pennsylvania, and formed for the protection of Pennsylvania’s environment. The Foundation’s members have significant interest in the protection and preservation of Pennsylvania’s State Forests.

The Foundation believes and avers that your proposal to lease additional State Forest land to supplement the Budget for the Commonwealth for the year 2010 with $180,000,000.00 is a decision that will risk the ecological integrity of our state forest system and is therefore an unlawful decision by you under Article I, Section 27 of Pennsylvania’ Constitution.

Article I, Section 27 of the Constitution reads as follows:
             “The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the
             preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values
            in of the environment. Pennsylvania’s public natural resources
            are the common property of all the people, including generations
            yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth
            shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.”
               
This Amendment provides self-executing rights to all the people of the Commonwealth; and enumerates a duty as trustee over Pennsylvania’s public lands, for the benefit of all the people of the Commonwealth. As governor of the Commonwealth you bear the specific  responsibility for insuring the rights and protection set forth in this Amendment. These rights are mandatory, not discretionary. You do not have the authority to violate them.

There is no question that the government has the authority to grant leases on state forestry lands for oil and gas exploration. However, the government is limited in that leasing by the environmental rights and public trust doctrine of Article I, Section 27, if the leasing threatens the public natural resources of  Pennsylvania forests.

Numerous current and former officials who bear the responsibility of protecting and preserving Pennsylvania’s state forests, as well as persons interested in protecting those forests, have spoken out recently voicing strong concerns over the impact that further leasing of our state forest lands for oil and gas exploration will have. About 692,000 acres of Pennsylvania’s 2.1 million acre forest system are already under lease. Of the remainder of state forest lands available for leasing for Marcellus Shale exploration almost all are within highly sensitive areas. Continued leasing could threaten the clean air and water our forests currently provide, could threaten our native plant communities, our recreational opportunities, and in general to impinge on the ability to sustain the balance on interests in preserving the integrity of our state forests.

As you know, the purpose of the Oil and Gas Lease Fund, the legislatively created fund where money from leasing state lands for oil and gas exploration is required to be invested, is the protect and preserve the Commonwealth’s State Forest System, and not to supplement the State Budget. . See “Oil and Gas Lease Fund, Act of Dec. 15, 1955, P.L. 865, No. 256; 71 P.S. 1331. 

As you are also aware, there is no need to require additional leasing of State Forest Land. The imposition of a Severance Tax would more than make up for the proposed leasing.

For the reasons stated above, the Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation hereby places you and Attorney General Tom Corbett on notice of the Intent to bring an action in Court against you, as Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for violation of the rights of the people and of your responsibility as trustee for the public lands of our State Forests, under Article I, Section 27 of Pennsylvania’s Constitution, should the decision to lease State Forest Land for the purpose of supplementing the State budget for the year 2010 be  enacted.

The Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation welcomes the opportunity to meet to discuss this Notice, and to try to preclude the necessity of filing the action.  The Foundation can reached through Ron Evans, President, 818 Spring Creek Road, Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, 16823, Phone 717-579-2263, as well as myself.
 
Respectfully submitted. 
John E. Childe
Attorney for Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation
1847 Center Street
Camp Hill, Pennsylvania 17011
Phone: 305-712-0172

March 4, 2010
NY Comptroller Fights For Investors on Gas Drilling

Comptroller Wins Battle as SEC Rejects Cabot Bid to Block Shareholder Vote
New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today said the $129.4 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund) will continue to press energy companies to disclose to their shareholders the environmental and regulatory risks associated with unconventional natural gas extraction including hydraulic fracturing.

“Natural gas stores locked in dense shale formations like the Marcellus Shale in New York are an important source of energy, but there are reasonable concerns about the environmental impact and potential liabilities inherent in its development,” DiNapoli said. “Investors need to have quality information so they may weigh the risks and rewards of the companies they invest in. The development of the Marcellus and other shale gas plays must be done the right way. As shareholders, we want these companies to assure us that they have a full and complete appreciation of the liability risk, and that they’re taking steps to mitigate those risks.”

DiNapoli, as trustee of the Fund, has filed resolutions with five companies – Chesapeake Energy Corp., XTO Energy Inc., Range Resources Corp., Hess Corp., and Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. The resolutions request company boards to summarize for shareholders: the environmental impact of their unconventional natural gas operations; potential policies for the company to adopt, above and beyond regulatory requirements, to reduce or eliminate hazards to air, water, and soil quality from operations including those from hydraulic fracturing; and, other information regarding the scale, likelihood, or impacts of potential material risks, short or long term, to the company’s finances or operations, due to environmental concerns regarding fracturing.

One of the companies, Cabot Gas & Oil, attempted to block the resolution from a shareholder vote. DiNapoli prevailed when the Securities and Exchange Commission in late January issued a letter disagreeing with Cabot that the company had legal grounds to keep the resolution off the shareholder ballot at its annual meeting this spring.
February 22, 2010
Gas well foes vow to fight Rendell.
Lawmakers line up against governor's forest leasing plan
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10053/1037700-113.stm

February 11, 2010
Pennsylvania has now leased over one-third of
its entire state forest to gas industry.

"PENNSYLVANIA CONSTITUTION, Article 1: DECLARATION OF RIGHTS, Section 27:
The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people."

Pennsylvania is one of nine states whose forests are certified "sustainable" by the Forest Stewardship Council. But even that proud jewel could get buried in the dung. Beneath Pennsylvania's forests, beneath a big piece of rock known as the Marcellus Shale, lies another treasure — natural gas, worth billions of dollars, some of it on state-owned land. Uh-oh.

For years, Gov. Ed Rendell and legislators have rubbed their hands in anticipation of this windfall. And during the 2009 budget wars, they did something completely unprecedented: Lawmakers ordered the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), which oversees state forests, to lease land to gas drillers to the tune of $60 million — which the state would keep.

That decision ignored the advice of former DCNR Secretary (and current Philly Parks and Rec czar) Michael DiBerardinis, who in a March 2009 memo warned that too much leasing would "scar the economic, scenic, ecological and recreational values of the forest," and that "a rush to drill threatens the certification of our state forests as sustainably managed."

They did it anyway.

Pennsylvania has now leased one-third of its entire forest to industry. Environmentally minded state reps (the so-called "Green Dog Democrats") say they agreed to the 2009 lease only on the condition that the legislature would leave DCNR alone in the next budget. But that deal, it seems, has already been broken. State Sen. Mary Jo White (R-21st District), chair of the Senate Environment Resources Committee, dropped the bomb in a December budget hearing: "It's my understanding ... that the [legislature has] ... an agreement with Gov. Rendell to transfer $180 million [from new DCNR lease sales] to the general fund in fiscal year 2010-2011."

Acting DCNR Secretary John Quigley responded that he had heard no such thing — but cautioned against leasing more forest. He pointed out that only three gas wells out of an anticipated several thousand have been built to tap the Marcellus Shale — and that's on land that's already leased.

"The potential of things to go wrong is going to explode in the future," he cautioned. A murmur went through the crowd. "Poor choice of words."
February 18, 2010
House panel to investigate hydraulic fracturing.
By MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press Writer
(02-18) 14:55 PST WASHINGTON, (AP) --

http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_111/20100218/hydraulic_fracturing_memo.pdf

An oil and gas drilling technique that is becoming more widespread is drawing scrutiny from lawmakers concerned that it may pose a hazard to human health by tainting drinking water and harming the environment.

Top Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee sent letters Thursday to eight oil and gas companies seeking more information about chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, also known as "fracking." The process injects vast quantities of water, sand and chemicals underground to force open channels in sand and rock formations so that oil and natural gas will flow.

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., the panel's chairman, said hydraulic fracturing could help unlock vast supplies of domestic natural gas once thought unattainable, but he added that lawmakers need to weigh the risks.

"As we use this technology in more parts of the country on a much larger scale, we must ensure that we are not creating new environmental and public health problems," Waxman said in a statement.

Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., who chairs an energy subcommittee, worked with Waxman last year on a landmark bill to impose limits on climate-changing greenhouse gases. Markey said natural gas can play an important role in developing so-called clean energy, but must be obtained in a way that does not harm the environment.

Fracking has been around for decades and has come under increasing scrutiny as drilling crews flock to the Marcellus Shale, a rock bed the size of Greece that lies about 6,000 feet beneath New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. The technique also is used in Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and other Western states.

Waxman and Markey said they hope to find more information on some of the chemicals used in the process, including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene.

A 2004 study by the Environmental Protection Agency said there was no evidence that fracking threatens drinking water. Critics, including a veteran engineer in the regional EPA office in Denver, argued that the report's methodology was flawed.

A provision in the 2005 energy bill that prevented the EPA from regulating fracking was called the "Halliburton loophole" by foes. Halliburton Co., an oilfield services company, pioneered hydraulic fracturing.

Houston-based Halliburton was among those receiving letters Thursday, along with several other large hydraulic fracking companies, including BJ Services Co. and Schlumberger, both of Houston.

FEBRUARY 10, 2010
Truck bound for drilling site 49.7 tons overweight.
Company fined $31,304
BY JASON WHONG •JWHONG@GANNETT.COM

State police in Towanda on Monday levied the largest penalty against an overweight truck since they began a crackdown on commercial vehicles last month.

Police issued five citations, totaling $31,304, to James C. Matusek, 58, of Shavertown, Pa., a driver for Latona Trucking Inc. of Pittston, Pa., for hauling 49.7 more tons than the truck's registration allowed.

The truck Matusek was driving was bound for a natural gas-drilling site when it was stopped by police on U.S. Route 6 in North Towanda on Monday afternoon.
Police said the truck was 13 feet, 9 inches wide while its permit was for 12 feet, 6

Because the truck's size and weight exceeded the permits, police deemed the permits invalid, and calculated a weight violation citation against the truck's registered allowable weight of 40 tons. By that calculation, the 89.7-ton truck was 49.7 tons overweight, making the penalty $29,270.

The total of all five citations reached $31,304, which Latona Trucking paid that day in district court. "Financially, that's a killer for us," said Joseph Latona, owner of Latona Trucking.

"Thank God that we had the money to pay for it. If we were a struggling company, you know, you're done."

Latona said he found the state police handling of the incident to be harsh."If the (trooper) is a compassionate guy, a good guy, he'll say well, you made a mistake, you did get your permit, you did make an error. ... I'll fine you the overage that you didn't allow on your permit. But he didn't.

"He handcuffed the driver and put him in the back of the cruiser and took him to the magistrate. And we've never heard of that," Latona said. "I have a friend that's a judge and I have friends that are state police here in Wyoming, and they can't believe that the guy did that."

Though Latona would have preferred for police to cite Matusek for the truck's difference, from its permitted weight rather than its registered weight, it was not at the trooper's discretion to decide what to do with the citation once it had been written, police said.

The disposition ... would have to be handled through the magistrate's office under the advisement of the district attorney," state police Cpl. Thomas Stopper said.

Matusek pleaded guilty to the five citations when they were paid.Latona recalled an earlier incident, about 10 years ago in Quakertown, Pa., when one of his drivers was fined $42,000 for straying from a route. In that case, the truck driver was given a ticket.

"You had 15 days to send it in. Gives you some time to get the money," he said.
Though Latona said he disagrees with the way state police handled the incident, he said he has an idea why police have stepped up enforcement of commercial traffic laws recently.

"I think that they got their hands full with the amount of truck traffic that is up there now with Chesapeake (Energy) drilling the wells," said Latona, whose business is in the Wilkes-Barre and Scranton area. "A lot of people are abusing it. A lot of people ain't getting permits." Police said the truck was hauling an excavator, which is heavy construction equipment used for digging.

Latona, who said about 80 percent of his company's business is excavating, said the truck was bound for a site in Troy to dig ponds for storing water to be used for hydraulic fracturing, a process that uses fluid to break rock underground and release natural gas. The ponds would not be used to store hydrofracturing waste water, he said. The total penalty of $31,304 is the largest since state police in Towanda began stricter enforcement of commercial traffic laws last month.

The highest commercial driver citation until now was more than $25,000, issued Jan. 26, to the driver of a truck owned by a subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy. That truck was discovered parked on Covered Bridge Road in Burlington Township, 41.6 tons heavier than the posted 10-ton weight limit.

GAS DRILLING TRUCK 41-TONS OVERWEIGHT
Pennsylvania State Police ticket a truck driver carrying 41 tons over the road weight limit.
January 30, 2010, 4:39 PM EST
http://www.wbng.com/news/local/83164462.html

 A natural gas well-drilling service truck was found way above the weight limit for the road it was on in Towanda, Tuesday. Troopers say it's the latest example of overweight natural gas trucks inflicting heavy damage on area roads. The truck was found when it was parked illegally and without a valid permit for it's oversize load. The Bradford County Road it was on has a posted weight limit of 10-tons. The truck is owned by a subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy Corporation. Troopers say the driver was ticketed for more than $25,000.

Police said Kevin Parsons, 44, of New Albany, Pa., was the driver of the truck found parked on Covered Bridge Road in Burlington Township. The road has a posted weight limit of 10 tons. "We've had so many problems lately with blatant (weight limit) violations," said Cpl. Roger Stipcak.
"We've tried ... to educate them about this stuff, but now we're going to start taking them forthwith to the magistrate," Stipcak said.

Police said the truck is owned by Hodges Trucking Co. of Oklahoma City, Okla., which Chesapeake Energy lists as a subsidiary on its Web site. "It's only going to get worse with all these gas companies coming in," Stipcak said.

U.S. breaks with ‘drill anywhere’ energy policy, Salazar announces
January 7, 2010
by Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON—The United States is moving away from the “drill anywhere, whatever the cost” energy policy of the previous administration, officials said Wednesday as they announced reforms in the way oil and gas leases are attributed.

“We don’t believe we have to be drilling everywhere and anywhere,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told a news conference where he and other officials announced changes to the way the U.S. government manages onshore oil and gas exploration leases.

“We believe we have to have a balanced, thoughtful approach that allows for the development of oil and gas resources but at the same time protects the treasured landscapes of America,” Salazar said.

The new approach was in line with President Barack Obama’s commitment to develop U.S. gas and oil stocks while also growing the country’s green energy capacity, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management Wilma Lewis said.

It also marked a break from the way the George W. Bush administration did oil and gas business, said Salazar. “The previous administration’s approach to oil and gas leasing ... by and large was that leasing should happen almost anywhere, at whatever cost,” he said.

He faulted the Bush administration for putting up for auction “highly controversial areas” in the western United States, including municipal watersheds, wildlife habitats, or lands close to national parks. “There seemed to be little rhyme or reason to which areas were leased. Western landscapes were being carved up and fragmented,” said Salazar, who is from Colorado.

Nearly half of the leases offered under the Bush administration were contested by environmental and other groups in 2008, compared with “a little over 1 percent in 1998,” the secretary said.

Court battles over leases are costing millions of dollars in litigation, tying up resources, and showing that the current lease system is flawed, he said.

Under the proposed reforms to the onshore oil and gas leasing program, more environmental analyses will be conducted before leases are auctioned and the public will be engaged “earlier and more frequently in the process,” said Salazar.
November 5, 2009
Gas company slapped with environmental violations

By Steve McConnell, Wayne Independent

Dimock Township, Pa. -A natural gas drilling company must provide a permanent supply of water to 13 homes in Dimock Township, Susquehanna County along with correcting problems at its well sites that caused methane to pollute drinking water in this small rural community, environmental regulators said. 
The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) slapped Cabot Oil & Gas on Wednesday with a 23-page order - littered with a slew of additional environmental violations - of corrective actions the company must address to eliminate the methane contamination in the hopes of restoring well water in the affected area.

According to the consent order obtained by The Wayne Independent, eight natural gas wells operated by the Texas-based company failed - causing methane to spew into the local aquifer in December 2008. The failures were due to either excessive pressure or “insufficient or improper” underground well casings - which ordinarily prevent this type of incident from occurring.  (Methane is the principal component of natural gas).

DEP delineated a nine-square mile “affected area” - home to 62 Cabot Oil & Gas natural gas wells in Dimock Township - centering around Carter Road.

Carter Road is home to some of the 13 residences that have had methane-infused drinking and bathing water.
The company was fined $120,000 for the methane contamination on Wednesday.

This follows a $56,650 fine for three toxic chemical spills in September that released, in the same township, an estimated 8,000 gallons of an industrial waste associated with Cabot’s natural gas drilling, said environmental regulators and a company spokesperson. Shortly after the spills that also flowed into a local creek and wetland, DEP shutdown Cabot’s operation in the area.

“The goal of the consent order and agreement is to ensure a long-term resolution to issues that have emerged in Dimock,” said DEP Director Kelly Burch. An attempt to call a Cabot spokesperson was unsuccessful by press time on Thursday.

If well water is not fully restored, the company must provide an alternate, long-term solution to supply water to the 13 impacted residences.
The residences were located within 1,300 feet of Cabot’s operations, according to the consent order; drilling began around Carter Road in August 2008.

Carter Road residents have previously told The Wayne Independent that they began drinking bottled water after learning that their wells contained elevated levels of methane, in some instances at a combustible concentration.

Combustion actually occurred in one instance and served as the proverbial wake-up call to the problems here: DEP began its investigation after a concrete slab on top of a resident’s well exploded on New Year’s Day - 2009.

“We weren’t here when it happened,” Norma Fiorentino told The Wayne Independent last spring about what happened to her well. “But we came back and found a big hole in the earth where it was.” Fiorentino has refused to drink her well water since then.

“You just don’t drink water that explodes,” she said; nearly a year later, the company will now purchase water for her.  The company, which has leased 78 private properties in Wayne County, giving them the right to drill for natural gas, must repair all of its failed natural gas wells by March. If the company does not do so by then, the wells must be plugged. According to DEP, Cabot has thus far fixed five of the eight failed wells; but three still have “insufficient or improper” casings - meaning that methane may still be seeping through the drilled well, thereby into the local aquifer. 

The consent order also detailed four other industrial waste spills reported by the company in Dimock Township.
•September 2008: drilling mud - an industrial waste - flowed into a spring seep in violation of the state’s Clean Streams Law.
•January 2009: 100 gallons of diesel fuel spilled at a well site, caused by a fuel-line leak on a drilling-mud pump.
•February 2009: an estimated 5 to 10 barrels of drilling mud discharged into a field, caused by equipment failure.
•March 2009: drilling mud flowed into a local creek.

October 29, 2009
Congress Gives Final Approval to Hinchey Provision
Urging EPA to Conduct New Study on
Risks Hydraulic Fracturing Poses to Drinking Water Supplies
 
Washington, DC -- The U.S. House of Representatives today approved a provision authored by Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) that formally urges the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct a new study on the risks that hydraulic fracturing poses to drinking water supplies.  The Senate is due to pass the identical bill in the coming days and President Obama is expected to sign the measure into law soon after that.  Earlier this week, members of the Interior Appropriations Conference Committee, including Hinchey, signed off on the Interior and Environment Appropriations bill and report for fiscal year 2010, which contains the study provision. 
 
"While natural gas certainly has an important role in our national energy policy, it's imperative that we take every step possible to ensure that our drinking water supplies are not contaminated or adversely impacted in any way," Hinchey said. "This legislation puts Congress on record in support of a new, comprehensive study that will examine the impact that hydraulic fracking really has on our water supplies.  The study results will put us in a position to take any further steps that are necessary to protect our drinking water supplies from the chemical concoctions being pumped into the ground by energy companies."
 
In May, the congressman asked EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson at a House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee hearing about the need for such a study.  Jackson told Hinchey that she believed her agency should review the risk that fracturing poses to drinking water in light of various cases across the country that raise questions about the safety of the natural gas drilling practice.  Hinchey's measure would formalize that congressional request for an EPA study on the risks that toxic chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing pose to drinking water supplies in New York and across the nation.  The EPA did conduct a study on the matter in 2004 under the Bush administration, but that study is widely considered to be flawed for a variety of reasons, including the way data was selectively collected from sources that had a vested interest in the oil and gas industry while other relevant information was ignored.
 
The language that Hinchey had inserted into the report reads, "The conferees urge the EPA to carry out a study on the relationship between hydraulic fracturing and drinking water, using a credible approach that relies on the best available science, as well as independent sources of information. The conferees expect the study to be conducted through a transparent, peer-reviewed process that will ensure the validity and accuracy of the data.  EPA shall consult with other federal agencies as well as appropriate state and interstate regulatory agencies in carrying out the study, and it should be prepared in accordance with EPA quality assurance principles."
 
In the now infamous 2005 Energy Policy Act, which Hinchey strongly opposed and voted against, the then Republican-controlled Congress exempted hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), which was designed to protect people's water supply from contamination from toxic materials. This loophole, which some have called the Halliburton Loophole, created an extremely dangerous set of circumstances.
 
In June, Hinchey, Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), and several of his colleagues introduced the FRAC ACT -- Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act, which would close the loophole that exempted hydraulic fracturing from the SDWA and require the oil and gas industry to disclose the chemicals they use in their hydraulic fracturing processes.  Currently, the oil and gas industry is the only industry granted an exemption from complying with the SDWA.
 
"It is critical that our communities are assured that the process of hydraulic fracturing is safe and will not contaminate drinking water supplies," said DeGette (D-CO), Vice Chair of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. "I will continue to work with EPA to encourage a robust study of hydraulic fracturing and its potential impact on drinking water."
 
Hydraulic fracturing, also known as “fracking,” is used in almost all natural gas wells. It is a process whereby fluids are injected at high pressure into underground rock formations to blast them open and increase the flow of fossil fuels. This injection of unknown and potentially toxic chemicals often occurs near drinking water sources.  Troubling incidents have occurred around the country where people became ill after fracking operations began in their communities. Some chemicals that are known to have been used in fracking include diesel fuel, benzene, industrial solvents, and other carcinogens and endocrine disrupters.

Saturday, October 17, 2009
Sierra Club, Atlantic Chapter met in Syracuse and passed a resolution calling
on the NYS legislature to enact a BAN on unconventional gas drilling in NYS.

“WHEREAS extensive environmental and health damages would be caused by horizontal drilling and high pressure hydrofracturing gas extraction techniques due to the contamination of water, soil and air by the toxic chemicals used in drilling and fracturing, and the naturally occurring toxic chemicals brought to the surface from deep in the ground,

“WHEREAS these environmental and human and animal health damages will have damaging economic consequences on residential property values, and on the state’s tourism, agriculture, forestry, winery, real estate development and educational businesses,

“WHEREAS the infrastructure costs of building and repairing roads, water treatment facilities, and other public services would far exceed any economic benefit to local communities, and

“WHEREAS it is yet to be proven that the green house effects of the production and use of natural gas produced by horizontal drilling and hydrofracturing are any less than those of the production and use of coal when the life cycle emissions of natural gas production and the higher impact of methane as a green house gas are taken into account.

“Be It Resolved that the Atlantic Chapter of the Sierra Club calls on the New York State Legislature to enact a ban on permitting gas wells that use horizontal drilling and hydro-fracturing to release gas from tight sand and shale formations such as the Marcellus.”


Saturday, October 21, 2009
CHESAPEAKE APPALACHIA, LLC
PROPOSED SURFACE WATER WITHDRAWAL PROJECT
Application Withdrawn by Applicant

Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC has notified the commission that it is rescinding its application for approval of a surface water withdrawal project to supply a maximum of 29.99 mg/30 days of water for the applicant's exploration and development of natural gas wells in the State of New York and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Surface water was proposed to be withdrawn from the West Branch of the Delaware River at a location known as the Cutrone Site in Buckingham Township, Wayne County, Pennsylvania.

The proposed project would have been located in the Delaware River Watershed within the drainage area of the section of the non-tidal Delaware River known as the Upper Delaware, which is designated as Special Protection Waters.

In its October 20, 2009 letter to DRBC Chairman Mark Klotz, who represents New York Governor David Paterson on the commission, Chesapeake wrote ". . . we have decided to withdraw the application and reasssess our approach to the situation. We believe this is preferable to continuing with hearings and further public debate about the project at this time."

The commission held a public hearing on an initial draft docket (permit) at its July 15, 2009 business meeting in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and heard testimony from approximately 40 witnesses. Voluminous written comment was submitted on or before the July 15 hearing. In light of the high level of public interest in the project, the commission took no action on the docket on July 15, and on that date it extended the written comment period through July 29, 2009. Approximately 1,200 written comments (excluding petitions) were received on the draft docket by the close of the comment period. After review and consideration of these comments, the commission and staff developed a revised draft docket, which was posted on the DRBC web site on September 11, 2009.

The public hearing originally scheduled for September 23, 2009 to receive testimony on the revised draft docket was postponed at the request of Chesapeake Appalachia to allow the public and the applicant more time to consider the revised draft docket.  In its September 15 postponement request, Chesapeake said it was seeking additional time "to review and consider the changes reflected in the revised draft docket for the project" published on the commission's web site on September 11.  Chesapeake stated that it "has not had adequate time to review the changes reflected in the revised draft docket, particularly with respect to the proposed pass-by flow."

http://www.nj.gov/drbc/dockets/D-2009-20-1.htm

October 20, 2009
Why the big rush toward gas drilling? By Deborah Goldberg
Albany Times Union

New York recently released a long-awaited review of how the drilling of thousands of gas wells into the Marcellus Shale might affect our state and our future. The 800-page draft environmental impact statement discusses threats to everything from the water you drink and the air you breathe to the roads you travel and the vacations you take.

It is essential that New Yorkers have adequate time to understand it all.

The Department of Environmental Conservation should extend the period for public comment on the draft for another 30 to 60 days so residents can properly comprehend information that could directly impact their health and the natural resources they leave to their children.

The prospect of industrial gas development in places and at a scale that we have never seen before is perhaps the most pressing environmental issue in the history of this state. The gas drilling industry is at our doorstep, clamoring for access to reserves that promise them big profits. The developers want to blast millions of gallons of chemically treated water into the earth to fracture shale deposits that hold the gas, a process called "hydraulic fracturing."

Before the rigs move in from Texas, however, we need to examine all the potential harms of that process and make sure that adequate protections are in place for public health and natural resources. We cannot let industry dictate the timetable for drilling.

Unfortunately, we already have seen what happens when governments move too quickly with gas development. Next door in Pennsylvania, drilling in the Marcellus Shale has ramped up quickly, with more than 1,100 permits in the first eight months of 2009. Last month, the state shut down Cabot Oil and Gas operations in Susquehanna County after three chemical spills at one drilling site in less than a week.

The chemicals Cabot spilled include potential carcinogens that are used in the fracturing process. Officials say more than 8,000 gallons of chemicals were released into a nearby creek, polluting wetlands and killing fish in the tiny Pennsylvania community of Dimock.

It's not the first time Dimock residents have felt the effects of having gas development in their backyards. Earlier this year, officials found released natural gas had seeped into and tainted the water in private wells.

In the meantime, state officials are looking for answers to what killed an entire ecosystem of fish and river wildlife on the other side of the state, along Dunkard Creek near the West Virginia border. Many residents and environmental experts fear that waste water from Marcellus Shale drilling may have pushed contamination levels to the point of no return.

In New York, DEC's Division of Mineral Resources officials say that their proposals will adequately protect drinking water and other natural resources of this state.

They are saying this even though they have not proposed a single new regulation to prevent serious environmental problems. They say we should trust them to place protective conditions in drilling permits and should not ask for enforceable rules.

Before New Yorkers give state officials such discretion over gas drilling, they need time to read the environmental review for themselves. They should not have to rush through 800 pages and make up their minds before Thanksgiving.

They should have a full 90-120 days to digest the technical analysis, think critically about the agency's claims, and speak their views in hearings around the state. We shouldn't cut corners when it comes to public participation.

At stake is the water we drink, the air we breathe, the soil in which we grow our food and the scenic landscapes that feed our spirit. The cost of protecting them now is far lower than the cost of cleaning them up, as New Yorkers should know from Love Canal.

We must do all we can to protect what we have. We do not want to be mourning what we have lost later.

Deborah Goldberg is managing attorney for Earthjustice Northeast,
a nonprofit, public-interest law firm.


August 27, 2009
CBF Files First Challenges of DEP Permits Related to Gas Drilling,
Calls for Natural Gas Tax

http://www.cbf.org/Page.aspx?pid=1394

http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/10324-1

High-Value Wetlands and Trout Streams at Risk
(Harrisburg, PA)— For the first time since the Pennsylvania Department of Environment Protection (DEP) took over review of erosion, sediment, and stormwater control plans for natural gas drilling sites, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is challenging two permits in Tioga County contending violations of both Commonwealth and federal laws. Not only did DEP strip review authority from local County Conservation Districts in April, but it instituted an expedited stormwater permitting process that does not allow for public participation or meaningful agency review of permit applications.

"Instead of protecting the environment, DEP is rubber stamping permit applications without any formal review," said CBF's Pennsylvania Executive Director Matt Ehrhart. "Wild trout streams and their tributaries, and exceptional value wetlands that should receive extra protection under the law are at risk due to the lack of thorough DEP oversight."

CBF is challenging permits issued to Fortuna Energy, Inc. authorizing earth disturbance for pipeline construction in Jackson Township, and to Ultra Resources, Inc. authorizing earth disturbance for substantial drilling operations in Gaines and Elk townships.

The Fortuna pipeline will cross tributaries of wild trout streams and impact exceptional value wetlands in violation of Pennsylvania wetlands law. The Ultra project will include pipeline crossings of high quality trout streams within the Pine Creek watershed, home to the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon and one of the state's premier outdoor recreation destinations. For both projects, there was no analysis of the rate or volume of stormwater runoff from the construction, which can pollute streams.

"That these permits were issued without technical review and an analysis of the damage caused by construction and post-construction runoff violates both the federal Clean Water Act and Pennsylvania law," said CBF Pennsylvania Staff Attorney Matthew Royer. "Conservation Districts have the local knowledge and experience to review the permits and manage the program. What we see here is a clear failure by DEP to meet fundamental permit review obligations. DEP should restore authority to the Conservation Districts."

The appeals will be heard by the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board.
"Gas drilling will bring some level of environmental damage, as well as damage to roads and bridges," Royer said. "That damage must be minimized through wise application of environmental regulations. It also underscores the need for a severance tax on drilling so that the state can fund mitigation projects to offset damages."


August 14, 2009
EPA Confirms Drinking Water Contamination by Toxics Used in
Hydraulic Fracturing
Joint Press Release: EARTHWORKS * Powder River Basin Resource Council
http://earthworksaction.org/PR_EPApavillionDrinkingWater.cfm

ProPublica: "EPA will investigate nearby oil and gas development to determine contamination source."

 Pavillion, WY, August 14, 2009 - This week U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told a group of over 70 that initial investigations found 11 of 39 tested drinking water wells were contaminated. Among the contaminants are toxics used in oil and gas production.

As part of a Superfund investigation, EPA began sampling in March 2009 in the Pavillion, WY area in response to multiple landowners concerns about changes in water quality and quantity following EnCana's increased gas development in the area. Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) and EnCana had continually assured Pavillion residents that there was no evidence of hydrocarbons or toxic chemicals in their drinking water wells.

"Our families and neighbors are experiencing everything from miscarriages and rare cancers to central nervous system disorders, seizures, and liver disease" said John Fenton of Pavillion Area Concerned Citizens, a citizens group formed to address oil and gas contamination.

EPA confirmed the presence of 2-butoxyethanol (2-BE), a known constituent in hydraulic fracturing fluids, in three wells. This is the same chemical that was documented in the water well of Laura Amos, a Colorado landowner, after nearby wells were hydraulically fractured by EnCana. EPA reported that other water contamination, in the Pavillion wells, included methane, as well as adamantanes (a form of hydrocarbon) and six other chemical compounds of concern.

In 2001 EnCana's fracturing operations in Silt, Colorado were linked to methane and other contamination of Ms. Amos' nearby water well. Amos was unable to test immediately for chemical constituents related to hydraulic fracturing as she was unable to identify what chemicals were in EnCana's drilling products. In 2003 Ms. Amos was diagnosed with a rare adrenal cancer and she later discovered that 2-BE had been used in EnCana's fracking products. According to Dr. Theo Colborn at The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, known health effects of 2-BE include elevated numbers of combined malignant and non-malignant tumors of the adrenal gland, kidney damage, kidney failure, toxicity to the spleen, the bones in the spinal column and bone marrow, liver cancer, anemia, female fertility reduction, and embryo mortality.

As a result of the EPA's findings, residents in the Pavillion area are now calling for a halt to EnCana's fracturing operation. "It's very concerning that we are finding known fracturing products and hydrocarbons in our citizens' water wells," says John Fenton. "We'll await EPA's determination as to what is the cause of this contamination. However, in the mean time, we are asking EnCana to ensure no more fracturing occurs in the area."

EPA stated that they will continue sampling, meeting with all parties and working with EnCana to determine the source and extent of the contamination. Randy Tuween, an EnCana representative at the meeting, pledged to fully cooperate with the community and EPA officials.

"Full cooperation in this instance requires that EnCana fully disclose what products and chemicals have been used in the Pavillion/Muddy Ridge fields," says Deb Thomas, organizer for the Power River Basin Resource Council and the Pavillion Area of Concerned Citizens. "This shows why federal regulation of fracturing and drilling operations is so important. We have been seeking answers from EnCana and the State of Wyoming for years. We are very pleased that EPA is now getting results. All citizens deserve clean water."

In June, the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act (S. 1215/HR 2766) was introduced to require disclosure of fracturing chemicals to public agencies and to lift the exemption for hydraulic fracturing under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The legislation, known as the FRAC Act ensures that a federal minimum standard would prohibit endangerment of underground sources of drinking water while allowing states flexibility in implementing that standard.

"Citizens throughout the country have been reporting changes in their water well's quality and quantity after nearby hydraulic fracturing operations for years and voicing concerns about both short and long-term health effects," said Jennifer Goldman of Earthworks' Oil and Gas Accountability Project. "The FRAC Act is critical to ensuring that we know what toxics are being injected into and near our aquifers and to holding the oil and gas industry accountable for the environmental and health impacts.


 Aug 07, 2009
Gas driller revises application; new hearing set
 By Peter Becker, Wayne Independent

 A hearing is planned in the Wayne/Pike area to take new testimony concerning the proposal by a major gas driller to withdraw up to a million gallons of water a day from the West Branch of the Delaware in northern Wayne County.

Carol Collier, Executive Director, Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), reportted at the Upper Delaware Council (UDC) session Thursday night that the hearing will only take testimony from the public on revisions the DRBC is making to the docket for the application by Chesapeake Appalachia for the Cutrone Withdrawal Site, in Buckingham Township.  

The new hearing will take place Wednesday, September 23rd at the PPL Environmental Learning Center, near Hawley, beginning at 10 a.m. There also again will be opportunity for written testimony.

The revised docket will be available on-line at www.state.nj.us/drbc/. Chesapeake has revised their application in cooperation with DRBC and the state.

The original hearing was held July 15th in Bethlehem, Pa. where 44 people testified; at least 500 written comments were received, and they  overwhelmingly expressed reservations about the taking of water. DRBC decided to reconsider the project and hold another hearing, putting off the full Basin Commission meeting until October 22nd. The DRBC can then choose to act on the application.

Chesapeake needs the water for the fracking process, which involves injecting the water and chemicals into the bedrock to split the rock apart and release natural gas.
Although the cutoff for written testimony on the first round was July 29, Collier said she’d accept the letter approved Thursday night by the UDC. To summarize the letter, the UDC expressed the following concerns over withdrawal of that much water:

• Effects endangered water species and relocating an invasive weed with the water;
• Impacts on recreation;
• Lack of non-point source pollution control plan;
• Need for a cumulative impacts analysis;
• If the water will stay within the Delaware River Basin or taken to other shale
formations in Pennsylvania or New York;
• Will New York City be required to make up for the loss of water by releasing an
additional million gallons per day from the Cannonsville Reservoir, to meet the flow
target at Montague’s gauge;
• Should the rate per minute be dropped from 1,000 gallons to 700, to protect aquatic
species, noise and lighting could become a problem if withdrawals are done at night;
• Water withdrawal data should immediately be made available on-line.

 (The first four points are made in agreement with a comment letter sent by the National Park Service.)

Collier stated that DRBC is preparing regulations to address gas drilling, that will focus on there areas, water withdrawal, well pad approval and wastewater removal. She said they hope to issue approvals of well pads by rule, to expedite the process, while not overlapping state regulations.

Dolores Keesler, UDC’s delegate for Damascus Township, questioned if DRBC has enough staff to watch what the gas companies are doing. Collier stated that the fee from the applicant will pay for DRBC to contract inspectors. From the audience, Susan Sullivan, Town of Tusten, wanted to know how DRBC will monitor that withdrawal water is not taken out of the Delaware River Basin. Collier replied that although DRBC will require the drilling company to keep the water within the Basin, how this will be enforced is unclear,

“That’s a scary gap,” said Sullivan.

Collier stated that this is why they hope to require the driller to specify where the water is taken so it could be traced, adding, “but we lack the manpower to ride truck.”
Emergency Services are also concerned about the transport of untreated drill site wastewater, said George Fluhr, UDC Chairman. They are concerned that their could be a hazardous material spill. 

UDC received a letter from Rev. Jean Blackie, Damascus United Methodist Charge, suggesting that the UDC  take up a “watch dog” role over the gas drillers, and to train other volunteer groups to assist. UDC Chairman George Fluhr explained that that the UDC does not carry enforcement authority; they can only observe and make comment on issues affecting the Upper Delaware, which they have effectively done for over 20 years.

If an individual has information on a perceived violation, however, the UDC will pass it on to the appropriate agency, said Fluhr. Fred Peckham, UDC- Town of Hancock added that landowners are the best environmentalists and have a stake in keeping their land pristine; they will report what they see.

The DRBC Director commented, “We need eyes and ears; if you see something amiss, call the [PA] DEP, [NY} DEC or us.”

July 17, 2009
1,000 gallons per minute
First gas-drilling related docket considered by DRBC
By FRITZ MAYER
BETHLEHEM, PA — On the afternoon of July 15, the largest gas-drilling company in the United States and environmental advocates in the Upper Delaware Valley eagerly awaited a decision by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) that would leave one side or the other deeply unsatisfied. As it turned out, they will have to wait a little longer: early in the proceedings the DRBC announced that the commission would postpone its decision, though the hearing on the docket in question continued.

The company is Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC, which has applied to the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) for a permit to withdraw up to one million gallons of water per day from the West Branch of the Delaware River, on the Pennsylvania side, just downstream from the bridge that runs between Buckingham Township and Hancock, NY.

The water will be used in connection with Chesapeake’s natural gas extraction activities, but according to the DRBC draft docket, which is a document prepared by DRBC staff in response to the permit application, 90 percent of the water will be used for hydraulic fracturing or fracking. Fracking is the process in which millions of gallons of water laced with sand and chemicals are forced into wells to facilitate gas extraction. The rate of water extraction would not exceed one million gallons per day, or 1,000 gallons per minute, and the company would be required to stop taking water from the river should the water flow “pass-by” in the area drop beneath a 31-million gallons per day threshold.

Staff of the DRBC have recommended to the commissioners that permission be granted to Chesapeake with a number of provisions. One of them would be that the approval would not give Chesapeake the authority to drill any gas wells in the Delaware River Basin (DRB), which must be approved separately.

The delay was not a complete surprise: there had been speculation in the run-up to the meeting, to be held in Bethlehem, that the commission would postpone a decision on the matter because of the complexities involved, and also because this would be the first water withdrawal permit issued in the DRB regarding gas extraction in the Marcellus Shale and might require more study.

Also, one of the most vocal opponents of gas drilling in the river valley, Damascus Citizens for Sustainability, has expanded its legal representation, and the new lawyer, Jeff Zimmerman, fired off a letter to the DRBC that says the commission should not grant the permit without first evaluating the impact of the thousands of gas wells predicted for the region. It says, “If the DRBC approves this docket without having first examined and evaluated the environmental impacts from the full scope of the projected development it will be violating the National Environmental Policy Act.”

That is just one of a litany of complaints contained in the letter that point to what Zimmerman considered to be “scientifically and legally deficient” coverage of various subjects in the draft docket. Another complaint concerns the intake screen of the apparatus that will draw the water. The letter says, “There is no discussion at all in the docket about the potential for entrainment of fish and other aquatic life on the intake screen and the impact of such entrainment on this aquatic life.”

There is also concern that if the operation were to make full use of the water capacity, it would require some 200 trucks per day to ship the water from the site to the various wells, or about one truck every seven minutes, 24 hours per day. Zimmerman writes, “The relevant point regarding the truck traffic… is that there is no mention of this whatsoever in the proposed docket.”

There may be an additional hearing scheduled for a later date.
The Chesapeake docket can be found at:
http://www.state.nj.us/drbc/dockets/D-2009-020-1.pdf
The letter from Damascus Citizens can be viewedat:
http://www.damascuscitizens.org/DCS-Letter-DRBC.pdf


JuLy 8, 2009
DEP ORDERS COMPANY TO CEASE DRILLING OPERATIONS THROUGHOUT PENNSYLVANIA
Gas and Oil Corporation Based in New York State Causing Environmental Impairments in McKean and Warren Counties
 
MEADVILLE -- The Department of Environmental Protection has issued a cease and desist order to U.S. Energy Development Corp. of Getzville, N.Y., for persistent and repeated violations of environmental laws and regulations. The order prohibits the company from conducting all earth disturbance, drilling and hydro-fracturing operations throughout Pennsylvania.

The 302 violations that serve as the basis for the order were documented over a period of two years, beginning in August 2007. About one-third of the violations have been resolved, but 197 violations remain uncorrected.

“U.S. Energy has demonstrated a pattern of behavior that displays disregard for environmental regulations and laws, the consequences being the contamination of water and soil in Warren and McKean counties,” said DEP Regional Director Kelly Burch. “This order stops U.S. Energy from building new sites and gives the company 30 days to fix those sites that already have been built. Other companies are meeting Pennsylvania’s environmental standards; U.S. Energy must also comply with our laws and regulations.” DEP issued the cease and desist order on July 10 because of continued and numerous violations of the Oil and Gas Act, the Clean Streams Law, and the Solid Waste Management Act. The violations include failure to implement measures to prevent accelerated erosion, unpermitted discharges, failure to restore well sites, encroachments into streams and wetlands without obtaining required permits, and failure to plug abandoned wells. The order allows U.S. Energy to continue producing at existing wells.

Some of the U.S. Energy well sites that were cited are on the Allegheny National Forest and property owned by Bradford Water Authority.

Oil and gas permitting, exploration and development is regulated in Pennsylvania under the Oil and Gas Act of 1984, which is administered by the DEP Bureau of Oil and Gas Management. For more information on oil and gas wells, visitwww.depweb.state.pa.us, Keyword: “Oil and Gas.”

http://www.wayneindependent.com/news/x1885891306/DEP-orders-U-S-Energy-to-cease-drilling-in-Pennsylvania

June 28, 2009
Protect Public Drinking Water:  Act on the FRAC-ACT

This week, the FRAC-ACT (HR2766/S1215) is expected to come to a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives. Contact your U.S. Representative and Senator today and urge them to support this important legislation.

For a quick link to your Congressperson, use this link:
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

For a quick link to your Senator, use this link:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

The FRAC-ACT (Fracking Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act) would end the natural gas industry’s exemption to the Safe Drinking Water Act, require the gas industry to disclose the chemicals they use in the gas extraction process and urge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a study on the risks that hydraulic fracturing/natural gas extraction poses to drinking water supplies. 

The bill will impact drinking water across the country but has special importance to NYC since 90% of the City’s drinking water comes from the Catskill/Delaware Watershed.  The natural gas industry is seeking to drill tens of thousands wells in this Watershed.

Hydraulic fracturing, also known as “fracking,” is a process whereby fluids are injected at high pressure into underground rock formations to blast them open and increase the flow of gas. Troubling incidents have occurred around the country where people became ill after fracking operations began in their communities. Some chemicals that have been used in fracking include diesel fuel, benzene, industrial solvents, hydrochloric acid and other carcinogens and endocrine disrupters.

Sponsors of this bill are Congressmembers Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Diana DeGette (D-CO) & Jared Polis (D-CO) and U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) & Charles Schumer (D-NY).   The 2005 Energy Policy Act, under the guidance of former Vice President Dick Chaney, created exemptions for the natural gas industry to the Safe Drinking Water Act (also known as the Halliburton Loophole).


May 19, 2009
Hinchey Gets EPA Administrator Jackson to Acknowledge Agency
Should Review Hydraulic Fracturing Impact on Drinking Water

Washington, DC - Continuing his efforts to close a legal loophole that exempts hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas exploration and drilling from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) used a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior hearing today to ask U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson to conduct a review of her agency's policy on the risk that fracturing poses to drinking water supplies.  Jackson told Hinchey that she believed her agency should review the risk that fracturing poses to drinking water in light of various cases across the country that raise questions about the safety.

"It's imperative that we protect our drinking water supplies from harmful chemicals that are being pumped into the ground by oil and gas companies looking to produce on more and more land in New York and across the country," Hinchey said. "I was extremely pleased that EPA Administrator Jackson recognized the need for the EPA to reexamine the Bush administration's misguided views on the risks associated with hydraulic fracturing.  We are in a much stronger position to protect our drinking water now that we have an administration in place that is committed to environmental protection.  While there is value in drilling for natural gas, it's imperative that we do so in a manner that doesn't have long-term environmental consequences on our drinking water -- a resource that is critical to human health and survival."

In the now infamous 2005 Energy Policy Act, which Hinchey strongly opposed and voted against, Congress shockingly exempted hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act, which was designed to protect people's water supply from contamination from toxic materials. This loophole, which some have called the Halliburton Loophole, has created an extremely dangerous set of circumstances.

Hydraulic fracturing -- also known as “fracking” -- involves injecting fluids into a well at extremely high pressure to crack open an underground formation and then prop open the new fractures in order to facilitate the flow of oil and gas out of the well.  More than 90 percent of oil and gas wells in the U.S. undergo this treatment with many undergoing it more than once over the life of the well.

More than 1,000 cases of contamination have been documented by courts and state and local governments in New Mexico, Alabama, Ohio, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. In one case, a house exploded after hydraulic fracturing created underground passageways and methane seeped into the residential water supply.

A 2004 EPA study, which was haphazardly conducted with a bias toward a desired outcome, concluded that fracturing did not pose a risk to drinking water.  However, Hinchey noted that the more than 1,000 reported contamination incidents have cast significant doubt on the report's findings and the report's own body contains damaging information that wasn't mentioned in the conclusion. In fact, the study foreshadowed many of the problems now being reported across the country.


May 19, 2009

DRBC ELIMINATES REVIEW THRESHOLDS FOR GAS
EXTRACTION PROJECTS IN SHALE FORMATIONS IN DELAWARE
BASIN’S SPECIAL PROTECTION WATERS

WEST TRENTON, N.J. – Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC)
Executive Director Carol R. Collier today announced that she has issued
a determination notifying natural gas extraction project sponsors that
they may not commence any natural gas extraction project located in
shale formations within the drainage area of the basin’s Special
Protection Waters without first applying for and obtaining commission
approval.

“This determination explains DRBC regulatory requirements on an interim
basis and asserts commission review over all aspects of natural gas
extraction projects in shale formations within the drainage area of the
basin’s Special Protection Waters, regardless of the amount of water
withdrawn or the capacity of domestic sewage treatment facilities
accepting fracking wastewater,” Collier said. “The commissioners intend
to adopt regulations pertaining to the subject matter contained in this
determination after public notice and a full opportunity for public
comment, but this rulemaking process can be lengthy. In the meantime,
DRBC will apply this determination in combination with its existing
regulations.”

In taking this action, Collier considered and determined that as a
result of water withdrawals, wastewater disposal, and other activities,
natural gas extraction projects in shale formations may individually or
cumulatively affect the water quality of Special Protection Waters by
altering their physical, biological, chemical or hydrological
characteristics. This finding is in accordance with Section 2.3.5 B.18
of the commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, which provide that
any project “that the Executive Director may specially direct by notice
to the project sponsor or land owner as having a potential substantial
water quality impact on waters classified as Special Protection Waters”
may be required to undergo review.

“The intent behind this executive director determination is to provide
directional signals, not put up roadblocks,” Collier said. “Each of
these activities, if not properly performed, may cause adverse
environmental effects on water resources. The bottom line for the DRBC
is to ensure that proper environmental controls are provided to
safeguard our basin's water resources that are used by nearly 15 million
people.”

Most of the shale formations that may be subject to new horizontal
drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques requiring large volumes of
water in the basin are located within the drainage area to DRBC’s
designated Special Protection Waters (SPW). The commission’s SPW program
is designed to prevent degradation in streams and rivers considered to
have exceptionally high scenic, recreational, ecological, and/or water
supply values through stricter control of wastewater discharges,
non-point pollution control, and reporting requirements. Coverage of the
DRBC’s SPW anti-degradation regulations includes the 197-mile non-tidal
Delaware River from Hancock, N.Y. south to Trenton, N.J. and the land
draining to this stretch.

Under this determination, a natural gas extraction project encompasses
the drilling pad upon which a well intended for eventual production is
located, all accompanying facilities and related activities, and all
locations of water withdrawals used or to be used to supply water to the
project. Wells intended solely for exploratory purposes are not covered
by this determination. An exploratory well is one that the project
sponsor intends to plug and cap at the conclusion of exploratory
activities without use for production or fracking. Exploratory wells are
subject to state regulation.

“To determine whether the Rules of Practice and Procedure require DRBC
review of any projects falling outside this determination, we continue
to recommend that any company proposing natural gas extraction
activities anywhere in the basin contact DRBC staff to schedule a
pre-application meeting,” Collier said.

The DRBC recognizes that each natural gas extraction project also will
be subject to the review of the environmental agency of the state in
which the project is located and, in some cases, subject to federal
agency review. The commission intends to coordinate with and, where
feasible, to utilize the review process and approvals of the applicable
state or federal agency to minimize duplication of effort and redundant
requirements imposed on project sponsors.

Any person adversely affected by this determination may request a
hearing by submitting a request in writing to the commission secretary
within 30 days of the date of this determination in accordance with the
DRBC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure.

The DRBC was formed by compact in 1961 through legislation signed into
law by President John F. Kennedy and the governors of the four basin
states with land draining to the Delaware River (Delaware, New Jersey,
New York, and Pennsylvania). The passage of this compact marked the
first time in our nation’s history that the federal government and a
group of states joined together as equal partners in a river basin
planning, development, and regulatory agency.

Additional information, including the complete determination, can be
found on the commission’s web site at www.drbc.net.

May 02, 2009
19 head of cattle die near gas well.
'Nobody is owning up to it'



An unidentified substance that apparently flowed from a natural gas drilling site into a pasture is is being eyed as a potential cause of the deaths of 19 head of cattle Tuesday evening, according to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.

The contaminated area is defined as about 20-by-20 yards and is adjacent to the well that Chesapeake Energy Corp. is drilling on state Highway 169 near the corner of Keatchie-Marshall Road in south Caddo Parish. Tests to determine the nature of the milky white substance that had pooled into a low area could take a week to complete, Northwest Regional Director Otis Randle said today.

Authorities believe the cows ingested the liquid before dying. Tracks went to and from the puddles, a Caddo sheriff’s office spokeswoman said.
Chesapeake and its fracing contractor, Schlumberger, have denied knowledge of a chemical release on the site, Randle said. “Nobody is owning up to it.”

"It looks like some type of production fluid has run offsite and the cows got into it, ingested it," said Otis Randle, regional manager for the state Department of Environmental Quality.

The owner had about 40 beef cows with calves in the pasture, said Sam Irwin, spokesman for the state Department of Agriculture and Forestry. He said 19 cows died but all of the calves _ he did not know how many or whether they were old enough to sell for beef _ were fine. Tissue samples from the dead cattle and one survivor were sent to Texas A and M for analysis, Irwin said.

The livestock died Tuesday near rain puddles in their pasture, said a Caddo Parish sheriff's spokeswoman, Cindy Chadwick. Local residents reported the cattle were foaming at the mouth, bellowing and had bleeding tongues.

The pasture fence is about 150 feet from the well, said Kevin McCotter, director of corporate development in Louisiana for Chesapeake Energy, which owns the well.
Randle said he asked representatives from Chesapeake and oil service company Schlumberger Ltd. to identify any fluid that might have run into the pasture, but they said they had no indication of a spill.

McCotter said the well's crew was injecting fluids at high pressure to break down the shale and release natural gas.

Chadwick said air quality tests Tuesday night did not indicate any danger.
Carol "C.C." Canady, president of United Neighbors for Oil and Gas Rights, said she saw at least four cows collapse and die.

"The cows' tongues hanging, bleeding off front and back, foaming at the mouth and bellowing" she said.

William Dubose said he captured video of yellowish-green fumes that smelled like a combination of antifreeze and petrochemical. The cattle were on a pasture south of Spring Ridge, a community about 20 miles south of Shreveport.
The parish landfill refused to take the carcasses, so they were taken to the owners' land for burial, Irwin said.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press & [http://shreveporttimes.com] All rights reserved.


February 25, 2009
NY State Admits Ignoring Threat to City’s Drinking Water.
Officials Suggest Gas Drilling Technique is Safe,
Then Acknowledge Lack of Evidence.

WASHINGTON – According to documents obtained by Environmental Working Group (EWG) through New York’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has not conducted a single test to determine if a controversial technique used to drill for natural gas upstate is a threat to New York City’s drinking water.

http://www.ewg.org/node/27641


February 25, 2009
Nockamixon Township Wins Fight for the Municipal Rights
to Control Natural Gas Drilling in their Pennsylvania Township.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Western District – A decision has been made in support of two Pennsylvania towns who have filed appeals to the state’s Supreme Court.

Oakmont Borough, Allegheny County and Salem Township, Westmoreland County:
The PA Supreme Court has ruled that local officials CAN use zoning to determine where drilling can happen within a municipality, as local zoning “serves different purposes from those enumerated in the Oil and Gas Act”.    

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PA court gas ruling . . . May set a precedent
By Tom Kane, The River Reporter
HARRISBURG, PA — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in favor of a municipality’s right to use zoning to control where gas drilling can take place. The case was heard June of 2008 with a ruling issued on February 25.

In written testimony, the court justices sided with the state’s authority to control gas drilling, deeming that local laws cannot be in conflict with state regulations already in place.

But the court also confirmed that local officials do have the right to zone where in the municipality drilling can occur but could not control such things as registration, bonding and well-site restoration.

The two cases appeared before the state’s highest court from the Borough of Oakmont in Allegheny County and Salem Township in Westmoreland County, who aimed to regulate gas drilling operations conducted by Range Resources in Salem and Huntley & Huntley Company in Oakmont.

Nockamixon Township filed an amicus curiae [friend of the court] brief in support of the two municipalities’ cases. Nockamixon supervisor Nancy Janyszeski was pleased with the decisions, saying the zoning rights mentioned were an important distinction.

“It’s good. It allows the township to use zoning to determine where they can control drilling,” Janyszeski said. “Our ordinance allows drilling only in industrial and quarry zones. The court ruling supports this ordinance decision.”

The Damascus Citizens for Sustainability also filed an amicus brief in the case.
“We are glad that we participated in the amicus brief,” said Barbara Arrindell, a spokesperson for the Damascus group. “The arguments put forth in the brief were decisive in the court’s decision, giving municipalities the right to make zoning decisions that determine where gas and oil mining is done. Towns can now say where gas drilling can take place or not take place.”


January 16, 2009
Earthjustice has filed major lawsuit.
Groups Sue EPA For Not Protecting Citizens From Oil, Gas Drilling.
Air pollutants endanger communities and fuels global warming.

Denver, CO -- Conservation groups today filed suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its failure to protect communities and the climate from air pollution emitted nationwide by oil and gas drilling.

Drilling releases a number of harmful air pollutants, which are making skies smoggier, hazier, and more toxic to breathe throughout the United States, and fuels global warming. Making things worse, federal clean air standards for oil and gas drilling are outdated. These standards are not only illegal, but endanger public health and the climate.

"Federal clean air safeguards for oil and gas drilling have failed to keep pace with technology and science, putting our children, communities, and the climate at risk," said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director for WildEarth Guardians. "Oil and gas drilling should not come at the expense of our health and our future generations."

Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA is required to review and update clean air regulations every eight years. EPA has failed to update two sets of clean air regulations it originally issued in 1985 and 1999, and has failed altogether to issue a required third set of regulations. The result is a number of oil and gas operations and pollutants spewed by those operations are not limited in any way. Even oil and gas operations covered by the outdated regulations are not required to use the latest technologies to safeguard public health and the climate.

In the Rocky Mountain West, where oil and gas drilling is booming, the impact of the EPA's footdragging is staggering.

In Garfield County, near the resort town of Aspen, oil and gas drilling has increased by more than 132 percent since 2004, and there are more than 7,000 wells. According to the state of Colorado, oil and gas operations in Garfield County are responsible for 77 percent of all benzene -- a known carcinogen -- in the air, whereas nationwide cars and trucks emit 70 percent of all benzene air pollution.

Studies by the state show that Garfield County residents face higher health risks because of benzene, while a recent risk assessment stated that benzene in the air posed an "unacceptable" cancer risk. The increase has been fueled by EPA's failure to update clean air regulations that it issued in 1985 Those regulations do not apply to oil and gas wells.

San Juan County in northwestern New Mexico -- with more than 18,000 oil and gas wells -- is the largest producing natural gas field in the United States. Many wells in San Juan County produce hydrogen sulfide, which smells like rotten eggs. At low levels, hydrogen sulfide can cause difficulty breathing and headaches and at high levels can be lethal. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management reports there are more than 375 wells that release hydrogen sulfide in San Juan County. Federal clean air regulations do not limit hydrogen sulfide from individual wells.

Elsewhere in the West, oil and gas drilling is linked to rising smog levels in western Wyoming and metropolitan Denver, haze in pristine wilderness areas and national parks, and to climate change. Drilling releases large amounts of methane (otherwise known as natural gas), a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. In New Mexico and Wyoming, drilling activities are the second largest source of greenhouse gases.

"Oil and gas drilling operations have been exploding throughout the Rocky Mountain West. Yet in the face of this exponential growth, EPA has sat on its hands when it comes to issuing and updating required regulations to safeguard our communities from these operations" said Andrea Zaccardi, attorney with Earthjustice. "We can't allow EPA to jeopardize public health by failing to maintain up-to-date clean air regulations."

Nationwide, today's lawsuit will help protect communities in California, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and a number of other states where drilling is occurring.

"This suit is an important step toward securing lasting protecting of clean air throughout the nation," said Nichols. "With public health and the climate at stake, we need to make sure we're safe, not sorry."

The groups filing suit against the EPA include WildEarth Guardians and the San Juan Citizens Alliance. Earthjustice, a national public interest environmental law firm, is representing the groups. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C.

Background Information
 
The EPA has failed to review and update two sets of clean air regulations and to issue a third set of regulations related to oil and gas drilling, in violation of the Clean Air Act.

The first regulations are called "New Source Performance Standards," and ensure that sources of air pollution use the latest technology to reduce any pollutants that endanger public health and welfare, such as hydrogen sulfide. Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA must review and update New Source Performance Standards every eight years. Standards related to oil and gas drilling were first promulgated in 1985 and have not been updated since. The 1985 regulations only limit air pollution from natural gas processing plants, not from oil and gas well-head operations. They also do not address greenhouse gases, or global warming pollution.

The second regulations are called "Maximum Achievable Control Technology" standards, and ensure that industry reduce toxic air emissions -- such as benzene -- using the most effective technology available. Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA has to review and update Maximum Achievable Control Technology standards every eight years. Standards related to oil and gas drilling were first promulgated in 1999 and have not been updated since. The 1999 regulations do not address toxic air pollution from a number of operations related to oil and gas drilling.

The third regulations are called "Residual Risk" standards, and ensure that industry reduces toxic air emissions to safeguard public health. Residual Risk standards are typically stronger than Maximum Achievable Control Technology standards. Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA must determine whether to issue Residual Risk standards within eight years of promulgating Maximum Achievable Control Technology standards. It has been more than nine years since EPA promulgated Maximum Achievable Control Technology standards related to oil and gas drilling in 1999. EPA has failed to determine whether to issue Residual Risk Standards and has failed to issue such standards. Consequently, there are currently no residual risk standards that protect the public health from toxic air pollution related to oil and gas drilling.
 
Contact: Andrea Zaccardi, Earthjustice, (303) 996-9623

Friday, January 23, 2009
Memo to EPA Employees from EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson
http://www.epa.gov/administrator/memotoemployees.html

Many vital tasks lie before [the EPA] in every aspect of EPA’s programs.
At the outset, I would like to highlight five priorities that will receive my
personal attention:

• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The President has pledged to make responding to the threat of climate change a high priority of his administration. He is confident that we can transition to a low-carbon economy while creating jobs and making the investment we need to emerge from the current recession and create a strong foundation for future growth. I share this vision. EPA will stand ready to help Congress craft strong, science-based climate legislation that fulfills the vision of the President. As Congress does its work, we will move ahead to comply with the Supreme Court’s decision recognizing EPA’s obligation to address climate change under the Clean Air Act.

• Improving air quality. The nation continues to face serious air pollution challenges, with large areas of the country out of attainment with air-quality standards and many communities facing the threat of toxic air pollution. Science shows that people’s health is at stake. We will plug the gaps in our regulatory system as science and the law demand.

• Managing chemical risks. More than 30 years after Congress enacted the Toxic Substances Control Act, it is clear that we are not doing an adequate job of assessing and managing the risks of chemicals in consumer products, the workplace and the environment. It is now time to revise and strengthen EPA’s chemicals management and risk assessment programs.

• Cleaning up hazardous-waste sites. EPA will strive to accelerate the pace of cleanup at the hundreds of contaminated sites across the country. Turning these blighted properties into productive parcels and reducing threats to human health and the environment means jobs and an investment in our land, our communities and our people.

• Protecting America’s water. EPA will intensify our work to restore and protect the quality of the nation’s streams, rivers, lakes, bays, oceans and aquifers. The Agency will make robust use of our authority to restore threatened treasures such as the Great Lakes and the Chesapeake Bay, to address our neglected urban rivers, to strengthen drinking-water safety programs, and to reduce pollution from non-point and industrial dischargers

Thursday, January 22, 2009
Monongahela River quality up after limits on Gas Drillers
By The Tribune-Review

The Monongahela River's levels of total dissolved solids -- which can affect the way water tastes and smells -- are much lower than in October, when state officials told sewage treatment plants to stop accepting water that natural
gas drilling companies used to prepare wells in Marcellus Shale regions,
the state Department of Environmental Protection said Wednesday.

Lab data showed TDS levels as of Dec. 30 were 110 to 196 parts per million, compared to 438 to 908 ppm on Oct. 22, DEP said. The new numbers are well below the 500 ppm guideline set by state and federal officials.

Monday, January 17, 2009
Court Orders Government to Stop Land Leasing in Utah
Finds in Favor of Environmental Groups to Protect Wilderness
http://www.nrdc.org/media/2009/090118.asp

WASHINGTON (January 18, 2009) -- More than 110,000 acres of Utah wilderness will be protected from oil and gas companies as a result of a ruling last night by Judge Ricardo M. Urbina of the U.S. District Court. Judge Urbina granted a temporary restraining order that prevents the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from moving forward with these leases. A coalition of environmental groups -- led by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, the Wilderness Society, and Earthjustice -- filed a lawsuit on December 17, 2008 to prevent the leasing of public lands.
 
"This ruling is a huge victory in protecting our nation's pristine wilderness from destruction due to oil and gas drilling," said Sharon Buccino, senior attorney for NRDC. "We do not need to sacrifice our wild lands to achieve a secure energy future."
 
In his ruling, Judge Urbina found that the conservation groups "have shown a likelihood of success on the merits" and that the "'development of domestic energy resources' … is far outweighed by the public interest in avoiding irreparable damage to public lands and the environment." The merits of the case will be heard later in 2009. Until that time, BLM is prohibited from cashing the checks issued for the contested acres of Utah wilderness.
 
"We're thrilled with this decision," said Stephen Bloch, Conservation Director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. "BLM's attempt to sell these leases just before the Bush administration left office has been showcased for what it really is -- a parting gift to the oil and gas industry. Judge Urbina's decision firmly puts the brakes on these plans."
 
The contested areas near Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Dinosaur National Monument, and Nine Mile Canyon include lands that contain the nation's greatest density of ancient rock art and other cultural resources. These lands were recently made available to industry through hastily approved resource management plans that have serious ramifications for 3 million acres of public lands.
 
"Under the Bush administration, the Bureau of Land Management pushed through Resource Management Plans that treated some of America's most sensitive and spectacular public lands as the private playgrounds of the oil and gas companies," said Bill Hedden, Executive Director of Grand Canyon Trust. "Today's heartening court decision gives these unique places a last second pardon from forever sacrificing their archaeological treasures, pristine air and remote wildness in order to sate only an hour or two of our national addiction to oil and gas."
 
"When we begin to allow oil drilling in the backdrop of an icon like Arches National Park, we know something needs to change," said Sierra Club representative Myke Bybee. "It's time to stop handing over our natural treasures just so the oil industry can make more money. Instead, we could be investing in efficiency and the kind of clean energy that will benefit all of us and leave our best wild places intact."  

November 6, 2008
Marcellus growing pains lead to water-discharge woes for Pa. industry
Katie Howell, Land Letter reporter

A Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection mandate limiting the treatment of wastewater from oil and gas drilling sites at sewage-processing plants that discharge into the Monongahela River could have far-reaching effects on the development of the prolific Marcellus Shale natural gas reservoir that underlies most of the state.

DEP, which has been investigating and attempting to dilute the levels of dissolved solids in the river, late last month ordered seven sewage plants that discharge into the Monongahela River Basin to significantly limit the amount of wastewater flow they allow through plants each day, a DEP spokeswoman said.

Teresa Candori, the spokeswoman, said the department restricted sewage treatment plants from allowing more than 1 percent of their daily flow to be drilling wastewater until the levels of total dissolved solids fall. Prior to the restriction, the plants allowed 10 percent to 20 percent of their daily flow to be wastewater from drilling, Candori said.

"We're very concerned about this. It has an immediate impact on Marcellus development," said Louis D'Amico, executive director of the Independent Oil and Gas Organization of Pennsylvania. "There are very few options [for wastewater disposal] once you start taking away sewage plants. It will have a tremendous impact on the industry."

Natural gas producers have been flocking to Appalachia in the past year to tap the Marcellus reservoir, which could hold as many as 50 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas, or one-fourth of total U.S. reserves. Geologists and engineers have long known about the prolific reservoir but lacked the technology and sustained high natural gas prices to make it profitable to explore (Greenwire, May 5).

That changed as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technology emerged, gas prices skyrocketed and Range Resources Corp. of Fort Worth, Texas, announced late last year that a Pennsylvania well was producing 3 million cubic feet of natural gas per day from the Marcellus reservoir.

Now the state is experiencing growing pains as it welcomes an influx of industry. The state has opened up public lands for exploration, much to the chagrin of environmental groups. And it has worked to establish environmental protections to safeguard against the pitfalls of horizontal drilling.

Hydraulic fracturing, the method of choice for producers looking to break apart the tightly packed shale and release the natural gas trapped in tiny pore spaces, requires pumping large amounts of chemically laced water into the ground.

That wastewater is what DEP is concerned is adding to the dissolved solid levels in the Monongahela River, which runs through southwestern Pennsylvania -- the heart of Marcellus country. But industry officials say the water is not toxic and is not affecting the level of pollutants in the river, but experts say drilling wastewater from hydro-fracking is 10 times more toxic than industrial wastewater.

"The water we're discharging is mostly [hydraulic fracturing] water. It's essentially freshwater with a little sand -- but hopefully that sand is left behind in the formation -- and some lubricants, but these are not toxic," D'Amico said.

DEP said the oil and gas drilling -- and specifically the Marcellus exploration -- was not totally to blame for the dismal conditions in the Monongahela. Candori said acid mine drainage runoff and low flow rates as a result of little rainfall were also at fault.

"Oil and gas drilling wastewater is not the primary source," Candori said. "It just happens to be the one thing we can control." Candori said the sewage-treatment plants are complying with the DEP mandate and some have stopped accepting oil and gas drilling wastewater altogether. D'Amico said the restriction is hampering the industry's efforts to explore in the region.

"If disposal through sewage plants is off the table, the problem is, where do you dispose of water from that production?" he said. "If you can't come up with a solution, you've got to shut wells in -- and this is certainly not the time of year to shut in and cut off natural gas production."

He said deep-well disposal is an option in some areas of the country, but in Pennsylvania, the geology prevents that. Deep-well disposal involves pumping the water back into the ground into deep rock formations and sealing them off so they cannot leak into groundwater reservoirs. Pennsylvania's limestone-rich geology is not ideal for deep-well disposal.

Candori suggested some additional alternatives, including storing the water at an industrial facility or taking it to other sewage-treatment plants that do not discharge into the Monongahela. DEP will continue monitoring the total dissolved solids levels in the Monongahela and will allow sewage-treatment plants to process more wastewater from oil and gas operations once the pollutant levels drop.

Thursday, October 23, 2008
"No" to gas wells in watershed:
Rifle, Colorado city council vote denies Laramie Energy request.
By HEIDI RICE, Citizen Telegram, Rifle, Colorado

RIFLE, COLORADO - There was a long, pregnant pause before Rifle, Colorado Mayor Keith Lambert cast the deciding vote not to approve an application to drill five natural gas well pads and multiple wells within the city's Beaver Creek watershed district.

Rifle, Colorado City Council members voted 4-3 at the Wednesday, Oct. 15 meeting to not approve the application submitted by Laramie Energy II out of Grand Junction.

Laramie was seeking the permit application for an exploration drilling project within five miles of the city's Beaver Creek watershed district.

However, there were concerns about the proximity of the Beaver Creek Road and the effects that truck traffic might have on the city's water supply or repercussions should there be an oil or grease spill.

A proposed performance bond of $200,000 by Laramie was suggested by the city's water resources engineer, Michael Erion, of Resource Engineering, Inc. Other suggestions included realignment of the road so traffic would not be so close to the watershed.

Councilor Jennifer Sanborn said she would like to see some kind of 24/7 alarm monitoring system that would alert city officials or personnel should some kind of accident occur due to the proximity to the road to the watershed district.

"I'm just concerned that there should be some kind of alarm system if there's a problem," Sanborn said.

Charlie Stevens, city utility director, acknowledged that it would take a few days to clean up if a major spill occurred in an incident where a truck tipped over.

Sanborn backed up her position by citing the city's code.

"As city council members, we're responsible for upholding the code," Sanborn said. "And that's why I wanted an extensive 24/7 monitoring system."

Councilor Jeanette Thompson also expressed concerns about setting a precedent for others wanting to drill wells near the city's watershed.

Before casting his vote, Lambert acknowledged that the city was very concerned about its water resources and the time it had spent on this particular water shed permit.

“It's been a long, lengthy process," he said. "But water is our most precious resource. We take it very seriously."

October 20, 2008
Bill Introduced to Repeal Exemption to Safe Drinking Water Act.
Congressman M. Hinchey, along with two members from Colorado, introduced a bill to repeal the exemption for hydraulic fracturing in the Safe Drinking Water Act.  The bill number is H.R. 7231.  Action on this bill this year is highly unlikely, but it sets the foundation for moving this forward in the next session of Congress.

HR 7231 IH . . .110th CONGRESS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (September 29, 2008)
Ms. DEGETTE (for herself, Mr. HINCHEY, and Mr. SALAZAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

A BILL
To repeal the exemption for hydraulic fracturing in the Safe Drinking Water Act, and for other purposes.

• Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. REGULATION OF HYDRAULIC FRACTURING.

• Section 1421(d)(1) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300h(d)(1)) is amended by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting:

• (B) includes the underground injection of fluids or propping agents pursuant to hydraulic fracturing operations related to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities; but

• (C) excludes the underground injection of natural gas for purposes of storage.'.


September 30, 2008
Judge backs local control in gas drilling.
By AMANDA CREGAN

Nockamixon took home a victory in court Monday over companies that want to drill for oil and natural gas in Upper Bucks.

A Bucks County judge ruled against Arbor Resources and Pasadena Oil and Gas Wyoming, both of Traverse City, Mich., and Hook ’Em Energy Partners of Austin, Texas.

Judge Clyde Waite sided with the township’s authority to enforce local ordinances to regulate natural gas and oil drilling in the township.
 
The gas companies argued in a lawsuit filed in May that local ordinances are not binding because they are trumped by regulations already in place under Pennsylvania’s Oil and Gas Act.

Arbor and its associates say they have met state drilling requirements.

Waite’s ruling found the act gives exception to local ordinances pursuant to the state’s municipalities planning code.

“The purposes of the Oil and Gas Act is to permit the development of oil and gas resources while at the same time protecting the health, safety, environment and property of the local citizenry,” Waite concluded.

Nockamixon solicitor Jordan Yeager said the judge’s decision was an affirmation of local authority and ultimately allows township supervisors to enforce their ordinances. 

“Obviously the result is a significant result for the township,” said Yeager, a Doylestown attorney. “I think it’s a vindication for local interests.”

Yeager argued before the judge last week that the gas companies’ first steps should be to appeal to the township’s zoning hearing board or the board of supervisors.

“Our primary objection was that this matter was not appropriate in court,” he said. “When you are raising a substantial challenge to a zoning ordinance you’ve got to go there before going to court.”

Amanda Cregan can be reached at 215-538-6371 or acregan@phillyBurbs.com.

July 9, 2008
Delaware Riverkeeper Network and Damascus Citizens for Sustainability  
Join Nockamixon Township to Fight for the Municipal Rights
to Control Natural Gas Drilling in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Western District – An Amicus Brief was filed
July 8 by Nockamixon Township, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, American Littoral Society and the Damascus Citizens for Sustainability in support of two Pennsylvania towns who have filed appeals to the state’s Supreme Court.  Oakmont Borough, Allegheny County and Salem Township, Westmoreland County have asked the high court to overturn lower court decisions that prohibit municipalities from establishing local ordinances regulating natural gas drilling within their borders.

The Court is considering the extent to which the state Oil and Gas Act preempts local ordinances.  The townships, including Nockamixon Township, Bucks County, want to regulate aspects of natural gas extraction in order to protect their residents and natural and public resources.  Range Resources and Huntley and Huntley natural gas developers challenged the right of the townships to apply municipal ordinances, given the State law.

For a copy of the full legal document filed in the Supreme Court:
SupremeCourt_Brief.pdf 

The advent of natural gas well drilling and development in the Marcellus shale formation of the Upper Delaware River Watershed has taken the region by storm with the recent signing of hundreds of leases for wells on private land in both Pennsylvania and New York.  Environmental concerns center on the degrading impacts of natural gas development on water resources, both quantity and quality, on habitat and other natural watershed features. 

The legal filings document that towns are attempting to control where natural wells are drilled and storage ponds are placed in order to prevent the damages to their communities from associated stormwater runoff, and impacts to public property and natural values.

“The proposed natural gas extraction threatens irreversible damage to the environment, culture and communities of the Upper Delaware Wild and Scenic River, and the drinking water supply for over 17 million”, said Delaware Riverkeeper Maya van Rossum.  “We are fighting to support the municipalities’ rights to protect their own environment and communities against self-serving private interests and corporate control”, said van Rossum.  Barbara Arrindell of Damascus Citizens agrees and further states that “The gas drilling process itself is intrinsically polluting.”

Elizabeth Koniers Brown, attorney for Delaware Riverkeeper Network, stated “The Environmental Rights Amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution gives citizens the right to clean air, pure water and environmental preservation.  Municipalities have a role to play in protecting these rights.”

Jordan Yeager, attorney for Nockamixon Township, stated “We must be able to regulate land uses in the township based on local officials’ knowledge of the municipality’s character, its citizens’ needs and the special nature of its resources.  State laws recognize the role for municipalities in protecting the environment and locally elected leaders need to be able to carry out their powers and responsibilities without interference.”

http://www.delawareriverkeeper.org/

Delaware Riverkeeper Network is a nonprofit, advocacy organization dedicated to protection and restoration of the Delaware River.  Damascus Citizens For Sustainability is a nonprofit grassroots organization that began in Wayne County and is committed to environmental issues.  Both groups are actively engaged in the environmental issues raised by the natural gas industry in the State. 

THE REAL IMPACT
OF GAS DRILLING

Depletion of Water Tables

Water Pollution

Decreased Property Values

Neighborhood Depreciation

Noise Polution

Air Pollution

Soil Contamination

Light Pollution

Health and Safety
at Risk

Increased Crime

Negative Impact on Wildlife
due to the many
Chemicals involved
in drilling.

Loss of Green Space

Loss of Recreation
Opportunities

Aesthetic Impacts

Catastrophic Accidents

Lack of Evacuation Plans

Habitat Fragmentation

Negative Impact on Hunting

Increased Traffic

Possible Wildfires

Occasional Pipeline and
Well Explosions

Spills of Hazardous Materials

Holding Ponds Containing Hazardous Liquids.

Occasional Blowouts with
Hydrogen Sulfide Gas which
is Capable of Killing Trees,
Animals and Requiring
Mandatory Evacuations of
Human Inhabitants.

Drilling Muds used for Natural
Gas Drilling are Known to Contaminate the Soil and
Food Chain.

Health damaging
chemicals such as
"Lead, Methyl Mercury,
Chromium, Barium, Benzene
and normally occurring
Radioactive Materials
are brought out through Routine Drilling thus Contaminating
the Water Table.

Upper Delaware as a
Pristine Setting
will be Lost
Forever!


DCS • Damascus Citizens for Sustainability, Inc. • P.O. Box 147 • Milanville, PA  18443